Remi- Grumpy Bear
by DH Hana
Summary: Remi was a bear with thick skin and thicker walls. Could an unexpected guest at Sanctuary show him that behind his anger was the man that she needed?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note (Updated 9/25/17): I try to make my notes all at the beginning and the end so that you don't loose the flow of the story.**

 **For those new to my stories, I write all of my Dark-Hunter fanfics as novella length continuations of the series, as best as I can. I try to avoid making any guesses as to where Sherilynn Kenyon is headed with her series, or over arching story lines. Instead, I simply wrote stories for some of my favorite characters who have yet to have their stories told, so I do guess at their backstory if it hasn't been shared in the DH books yet. Ms Kenyon could easily shatter each one of my stories as new books come out. And, that has in fact happened as I created a story that included Hecate as a character. Then Dragonmark came out and she is referenced in the book. It throws her whole role in my Achilles story out the door in so far as cannon goes. So, please take some of it with a grain of salt. These are just my attempts at giving more characters their happily connected relationships in one form or another.**

 **Also be warned that I do write with Ms Kenyon's foundations of sex, violence and abuse. Though I may cuss a bit more. Depending on the story. They are all rated M for these reasons. And be aware that there may be SPOILERS if you have not read the DH series up to Dragonmark.**

 **I started these stories two years ago and my writing has improved. I hope to spend some time going back to my earlier stories and seriously working on rewriting (not content, but fixing grammar and any major cannon issues as they popped in). I also gave all of the stories dates just to help me remember who was where as I wrote them, as several of the stories do overlap a fair amount.**

 **This story, is rather independent. I created many of my own characters for these stories. So, headed into this story, please know that the main female character is not from Ms. Kenyon's book series, nor are any characters from her past. Additionally, Declan and his group are original to this story as well.** **However, references to Jenna and her family are from Deimos's story.**

 **If you would like to read my other stories in chronological order, they are:**

 **Achilles (ancient to modern), Deimos, Colt, Kell, Phobos, Morginne, Remi (has a broader timeline), Ethon (falls during Remi)**

 **If you would wish to read things in clumped information, the order is:**

 **Achilles and Remi can be read completely independently, before or after the other clumps. Clump one- Deimos and Phobos. Clump two- Colt and Kell. Clump three- Morginne and Ethon.**

 **So, enough with my crap, on to the story...**

* * *

"Shit!" Remi growled as one of the waitresses dropped another plate behind him.

She quickly scurried away with apologies.

Remi Peltier was in no mood for anything else to be grating on his nerves. Not that he ever was in a good mood, but recently, it had become worse. He threw down his towel and left the kitchen before he blew up.

Life for him was nothing more than a series of open wounds being filled with salt and rubbed in hard.

How could he ever explain to anyone that he never felt like he belonged around people when he was born into a family where he is one of fourteen children? He had suffered the loss of two of his brothers like the rest of the family. As well as the recent loss of their parents. But, still, that left his ten brothers and one sister. Plus, several of them had significant others and children.

Then, add in the fact that the family ran a local bar and boarding house of sorts. Sanctuary was in fact, a limani, a type of refuge to the preternatural community. Among the world, there many entities that the humans don't know about. Among them are the Were-Hunters, or shape-shifters. There are several species of Were's in the world, such as lions, wolves, panthers, hawks, even dragons. A limani is to be a safe haven for everyone to find shelter regardless of past, species, or much in between, with very few exceptions to those rules.

The Peltier family were bears. A mix of Katagaria and Arcadian bears. Katagaria being animals who can take on human form. Arcadian being humans that can take on the animal form. Yet, despite being mixed blood, they were all true to bear nature. Everyone in the family tended to walk a fine line between absolute family loyalty and general desire to be left alone at risk bodily harm to the person annoying them. Interesting nature when running a limani and human business at the same time. Still, the bars 'house rules' said it all… "Come in peace or leave in pieces."

Most members of the family, including the extended family of residents who lived in Sanctuary, were a little more social. A few prefered to keep to themselves. None, more so than Remi.

Okay, maybe the dragon in the attic, but he didn't really count in Remi's mind.

Unfortunately, for Remi, he was never really left alone. Not only did he have to work in the bar, but he had to interact with the family in the halls of the house as well. And, that was where the salt came into the picture. Because the one person who ever managed to break through his shell to touch his heart… now lived in the house, mated to his twin brother and mothering _his_ children.

It wasn't really their fault, Remi always tried to justify things so as to not lash the anger out on them. For as much as he really wanted to shred his brother to pieces, Remi also loved him.

One of the curses of being a Were-Hunter was that they could not have children until they are mated, and could only have children with that mate. The real kicker was that they couldn't choose their mates. The Fates chose for them.

All the Were-Hunter could do was sleep around until they had sex with the right person. Afterwards, their mating marks would show up on each others hands, in exact match. Unfortunately, the first time that Rebecca was in heat, she went in search of Remi and stumbled upon his brother Quinn. Quinn didn't know about Remi's relationship with Becca. Becca was too overwhelmed with the emotions and need of her hormones, did not even realize that Quinn was not Remi. And, since Remi and Quinn are part of a set of identical quads, it was easy to mix them all up.

Yet, boom.

Despite the inexplicably random mistake of it all, the two received their mating marks.

Yeah, they could have refused. But, that would have left Quinn impotent for the rest of Becca's life, and Becca unable to have children. So, they chose to seal the deal.

That left Remi in the cold, living down the hall from them as they have children. Each child rubbed it in deeper that his brother was sleeping with the woman that he had been in love with for years. It would be easier if he could just stop his love for her.

It all grated on him. His general disposition was one of snarling, growling, agitation. That was on a good day. And, it was the reason that he was delegated to only working in the kitchen, washing dishes, away from the general public. He should just leave. But, he couldn't bring himself to abandon his family. Especially after their parents died.

Life fucking sucked.

* * *

December 2, 2016

It was early, or getting very late depending on your view. The bar was closed to humans, giving the staff a chance to clean the place up, and mop the floors. There were still preternatural customers milling about, since Sanctuary was technically open 24/7 for them. Though, even those crowds had died down.

Remi hadn't slept well, so he headed into the bar to help mop the floors. It would give him something to do. He would need to be down there in a few hours anyway. At least, this way, he knew the place would be clean.

Most of the guests had worked their way up to the second floor of the bar where there was still a good poker game underway. It was rambunctious enough that even Serre and Justin were milling about and watching the festivities.

"One of you should be up on the third floor, doing your jobs." Remi grumbled to himself. Too low for anyone to hear. Were-animals were created by the magical manipulation of a god and a desperate king. As a result, the Were's could use magic themselves. Most commonly to transport themselves in a flash to a location. Yet, because Sanctuary was a public business with human clientele, filters were put in place to funnel all outside attempts to flash into the bar to the third floor where the humans could not see. There was always supposed to be someone there as guard to check intentions and that the person entering was not already banned. Remi tried to not think about the lack of security.

At least the poker game kept people occupied so Remi could flip the chairs onto the tables after they were all scrubbed down. Then, as he pulled the mop bucket into the room, he looked up to the top of the stairs that lead from that third floor. A woman stumbled out of the door and looked like she was about to tumble right on down all of those steps.

In the space of a heart beat, he used his magic to flash himself up to her and caught her before she was seriously hurt. Then, she passed out in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of the mop as it dropped to the floor, having been left behind by Remi when he flashed up to the woman, snapped Justin's attention. It took the panther a moment to figure out where Remi had gone, then he flashed over to help.

"What happened?" Justin asked.

Remi growled at the panther. "Don't know. Weren't you supposed to be up here keeping guard? Wake Carson and have him meet me in the clinic."

Remi didn't wait any longer, he flashed the unconscious woman to Carson's clinic in the family house. He quickly moved to lay her down on the surgical bed in the middle of the room where Carson had tended to many creatures over the years with many different kinds of needs.

As a limani, it came in handy to not only have a very tightly controlled home with many rooms, but a doctor on standby for those that ran in for the safety of the moment. Better yet, when it was a doctor like Carson who is half human and half Were, hawk to be precise. And, a Were who went to medical and veterinary school. The man was ready for just about anything.

But, it wasn't until Remi had the woman stretched out and was pulling away from her, that he realized she was wearing nothing but a sheet wrapped around her and a metriazo collar that was cutting in too much on her neck. She was already turning blue. He quickly broke the collar loose to let her breath. A metriazo collar was used on Were-Hunters to inhibit their use of magic. Any use of magic not only felt uncomfortable, but made the collar tighter. It must have tightened when she found a way to transport herself to Sanctuary.

Then he looked at the sheet. It was a dingy red sheet that almost hid the blood smears that he could smell. The skin that showed was sallow and covered in bruises, cuts and bite marks in many stages of fresh or healed. She was thin, as though she had been starved. Her dark brown hair was greasy and matted and fell into her face.

His chest was tight and his anger flared at the vision of abject cruelty the stranger had suffered. His thoughts barely passed through his mind before Carson came running into the clinic.

"What's going on?" He questioned Remi.

Remi shook his head. "I don't know. She just showed up on the third floor of the bar like this, nearly stumbled down the stairs because that metriazo collar was choking her. I caught her and then she passed out." Remi pointed to the broken collar on the table.

Carson pressed his lips together as he got his first good look at her. "Alright, out you go. I am sure that she does not want an audience for this."

Remi nodded. "I will be outside if you need me."

Carson took a breath. "You may need to contact Savitar on this one. We don't need to bring down his wrath by hiding this secret from him."

That was the last thing that Remi wanted to do, but he knew that Carson was right. So, before he called Savitar, he stepped down the hall to knock on Fang and Aimee's door. As they technically ran the place now, since maman and papa died, they deserved to know before Savitar showed up.

Fang gave a very wolf-like growl at the knock. He must have been asleep, since he was Katagaria and slept in his natural form, which was a wolf. Remi shuddered just thinking about his sister sleeping next to a wolf. She was a bear, an Arcadian bear who was human in natural form. It just wasn't right for the two of them to be mated. However, their stubborn love and the Fates themselves, chose their path. As freaky as it was.

Fortunately, it was Aimee who answered the door. She was tall, and blond like the rest of the family. And, very beautiful. It was a challenge to keep men off of her. Though, once she was mated, the unwanted flirtations happen less. The regulars were not going to mess with a married woman whose husband would kill them in a heart beat.

"What?" She snapped.

Remi shrugged. "Just thought you would like to know I am calling Savitar due to our most recent problem." Then he turned to walk away.

"Wait. What?" Her eyes were wide. "You are joking right?" She ran after him.

By then, Fang returned to human form and joined them as Remi returned to stand near the clinic incase Carson needed him.

Remi rolled his eyes as he took out his phone. "This is Remi Peltier. Really hate to make this call, but apparently we have a living Arcadian leopard in the clinic at Sanctuary." Aimee gasped.

Savitar flash in front of them all before Remi could continue the rest of that call. The filters to the third floor had some exceptions, and Savitar was on of them. The Chthonian stood 6'8" and seethed in his anger as he stared at Remi with lavender eyes. He wore nothing but board shorts. Remi assumed that he must have been on the beach again, like always.

Remi knew that Savitar could kill him in an instant. However, if the god-killer decided to do that, he would only be doing Remi a favor. Remi was tired of the pain. So, he really didn't care if he pissed off the man before him any more. The only thing that held Remi back was the possible backlash on his family. Fortunately for Remi, that was not the night that he would die. However, calling the lethal immortal was serious business. As the man who oversaw all Were-Hunters and facilitated the Omegrion, ruling counsel for the Were's, one simply didn't call him unless it was really important.

Savitar clenched his jaw. A furious tick worked at a muscle, showing just how hard he was restraining his fury on the people in front of him. "Because I know that you are not stupid enough to call me and lie to me, I am going to assume you are correct. Explain. Now."

Remi crossed his arms. "Can't explain what I don't know. I just saw her come out of the third floor where we filter all of the attempts to flash into the bar from outside. I flashed myself up to catch her just before she passed out and would have fallen down the stairs. She is still unconscious and Carson is with her now. The only thing that I know is that someone held her prisoner, she was wearing a metriazo collar."

Aimee nervously asked Remi if he was sure of what she was. "I know what I smell Aims. She is a leopard. And, the fact that she is out cold and still in human form…" He didn't need to finish the rest of that. Like Fang, when any Were lost consciousness, they revert to their natural form. Since she is still in human form, it had to be her natural state. Thus Arcadian.

However, supposedly, Savitar had killed the whole damn family line of them over something they did centuries ago. No one knew why and he was not the kind of man to share without cause.

Savitar immediately went into the room. Remi, Aimee and Fang followed. Fang grumbled under his breath once he could smell the scent of her and confirm what Remi had said. Aimee covered her mouth as she looked at the girl.

Carson had rolled her over onto her stomach, her ass had been covered, but her back was exposed as he worked to clean and tend to the dozens of injuries slashed across her back.

Carson stepped away to let Savitar move closer. The Chthonian ran a hand over her face to cup her cheek and stood there for a moment, with his head tilted, as if he was listening to something. When he opened his eyes, they were filled with pain. He stared at Remi for a moment. Then he let out a breath and healed her injuries, including her scars.

"Nice." Carson exhaled. "Never tire of seeing that kind of healing."

As her eyes fluttered open, the woman jumped up and tried to run for the door. The sheet covering her ass fell away and she nearly lost the hospital gown as well since it was open across the back while Carson worked.

But, Remi only got half a second to enjoy the view before she was running toward him for the door. Grabbing her up in his arms, he spun her around until her back was pressed against his front so that she was not so exposed. "Easy there kitten. No one will hurt you, but you are likely to hurt yourself taking off like that."

She struggled in his arms. And, tried to kick him several times. So, he walked her back toward the wall where he could slide down with her until he could coax her into a position where he could cradle her safely. He could feel her heavy breathing and the tears that landed on his arms, but she said nothing.

Savitar moved to crouch down in front of her. She fought against Remi again, her only sound was a low feral growl.

"Do you know who I am Korina?" He asked the girl and she nodded. "I am truly sorry. Had I known, I would have stopped it. I promise you that the others will pay."

"You... kill... me?" She whispered in a thick accent that Remi did not recognize. Her words paced between pants.

Savitar shook his head. "No child. You had nothing to do with the sins of your family. You were their victim."

That finally succeeded in breaking her as she collapsed into heavy sobs. Remi shifted Korina until she could lean fully into him as she cried.

Remi looked up to Aimee, Fang and Carson for help. They all shrugged. They didn't know what was going on either.

Savitar noticed the exchange. "Korina, listen to me." Her sobs didn't slow. "Korina, you came to the right place. I will work things out. You can stay here until we can get things settled for you. You don't have to be afraid here." He reached to touch her arm and she pulled away quickly.

Savitar stood and pulled the other three out into the hall with him, that left Remi with the sobbing girl.


	3. Chapter 3

Once the door was closed, Savitar let out a very long, slow breath as he stared in the location of where the woman was crying on the other side of the wall.

"I am only going to say this once. I am not likely to repeat it. And, if this spreads any further than absolutely necessary, I will break bad on the whole damn house. Are we clear?" He said through gritted teeth.

They all nodded very slowly and hesitantly. What in the fuck was going on?

Savitar closed his eyes. "The entire family of Arcadian leopards ran themselves like a mofia. The crime and violence was something that I watched closely. Then, I found out that they engaged in the sex slave trade. They kidnapped human children at a young age and sold them as sex slaves and food sources to demons and humans alike. That is why they are gone."

Aimee growled at the thought. Fang wrapped his arms around her.

After a pause. "It was the only time that the Fates and I worked together. But, they were the ones to notice the pieces of evidence and brought it to my attention. It was **_not_** my best day." He ground his teeth. "I searched their memories to find all of the victims that I could and save as many children as I could reach."

Savitar looked at Aimee. She could barely hold back the tears from what she was hearing. "I know this is a lot to ask. From what I was able to see in her memories, she was… _sold_ … over a thousand years ago to a group of demons. However, they were all bound to a book, imprisoned to only come out when summoned. Because of that, they basically jumped around in time and dragged her with them. To her, it has been somewhere around seventy years. That is how I missed her." He took a breath. "I never dreamed they would sell their own child… She has been through too much to leave her on her own now. She needs a place to stay where she can acclimate to the world. Unlike you Fang, or some of the others that you have dealt with who have spent time with demons. This girl has never known anything else. This transition will be difficult for her."

Aimee reached out to Savitar. "Of course she can stay here."

He nodded his head. "I will take care of her bills for now. You needed to know what you will face with her. I am serious about not telling anyone about why the Arcadian leopards were killed off. Or even that she is Arcadian. If word got out about it… there would be consequences and I would prefer not to obliterate an entire species again."

* * *

By the time Aimee and Carson entered the clinic again, Korina was passed out in Remi's arms. He just sat there and rubbed her back as he leaned his head against the wall, nearly falling back to sleep himself.

Aimee arched a brow. Remi tilted his head. "Hard to get leverage to get up without waking her and she seemed to have gone through enough."

Aimee knelt down. "Korina?"

The woman's eyes opened slowly and she jumped as she looked around once again. Where in the hell was she? She started to panic.

Aimee quickly tried to sooth her. "Hey, hey, hey. It's alright. We have a room set up for you with fresh sheets. My husband went down to the kitchen to get you some food. But, I thought that you would like a hot shower first."

Korina slowly started to remember everything that happened. She finally made it to Sanctuary. Savitar was there and didn't kill her. Oh gods. She was still alive. She leaned her head back and felt warmth. What the… she was being held by a man.

She quickly climbed out of Remi's lap and wrapped her arms around herself for protection.

Aimee tilted her head. "Here honey, let me help you to the shower. I know that you have not been a part of the world for a while. There is lots to learn, but we can help."

Aimee led her to a bathroom where she could shower and change.

As Remi started to stand up and follow, Carson stopped him. "You need to get caught up on what Savitar told us."

* * *

Korina tried to sleep. She had never been allowed to sleep for more than a few hours at a time. And, for the first time, ever, she didn't feel pain. She just couldn't sleep. Her mind raced while she sat in the corner of the room that the female, Aimee, she said her name was Aimee, had said was for her to use. Everything looked and sounded so different from what she was used to. She was terrified that it was all a trick or a dream.

She was so lost in thought, that she jumped when she heard a loud noise on the door of the room. She just watched the door closely to see if the sound happened again. When it made noise again, she heard a man's voice. "Korina, are you awake?" She tilted her head at the question.

Carson opened the door slowly when he did not hear an answer. "Korina? Are you alright?"

The man grimaced when he saw Korina curled tightly into a protective position in the far corner of the room, she wore no clothing.

"Korina, I am not here to hurt you. My name is Carson. I am a doctor. I am just here to check on your health. You have not come out of your room all day." He took a sheet from the bed and covered her gently as he drew closer. She watched him very closely and quickly pulled away when he touched her.

"Why aren't you wearing the clothes that Aimee gave you?"

She growled at him.

Carson tilted his head. "Do you understand what I am saying?"

She slowly nodded her head.

He took a breath. "Alright, Savitar healed your injuries, but you are still very thin. Will you at least come with me to the clinic so that I can run a few tests to see if there is anything I can do for your malnutrition?"

Her brows creased in concern.

"You are not used to people being kind, are you?" He asked. She slowly shook her head.

"Or talking?" The same reaction.

"Or wearing clothing?" Again, she shook her head.

Carson sighed. "I am very sorry for that. I can't promise that everyone you meet will be kind or that no one in the world will ever hurt you again. But, in this house, you are at least safe. We want to help you Korina. Please, let me help get you healthy."

Remi stood at the door. Carson had asked him to help in case Korina lashed out. He was surprised at just how beautiful she was once she was cleaned up and healed. She had long dark brown waves that highlighted the paleness of her light golden skin. It reminded him of creamy marble. And, she had the most striking eyes that he had ever seen. They were an almost perfect match to her skin tone. Maybe just a touch darker, like a pristine beach in the summer sun. But, hearing Carson's questions and seeing her responses broke his heart. No one should ever be treated so poorly. He didn't know how she was not stark raving mad from it all.

Carson eventually coaxed her into wearing a dress, then out of her room and into the hall toward the clinic a few doors down. She looked at Remi with some recognition.

"You catched me?" Her voice was a whisper.

Remi nodded. "I caught you before you fell and in the clinic so you did not hurt yourself."

She dropped her eyes. "Thank... you."

Then she saw some of the other residents moving through the halls. She quickly backed up into Remi. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You are safe. I will protect you if you need it."

Once in the clinic, Carson tried to help Korina relax while he drew her blood and checked her vital signs. "Can I ask where you learned English?" She flinched every time he touched her. Yet, she pushed herself to remain.

She looked down the whole time that she was with them. But, when Carson asked her questions, she physically pulled into herself and hunched her shoulders. Still, Remi could see the expression on her face. She was thinking, as if she was trying to figure out if she would answer and how to do it. And, her eyes never stopped watching both men. She may have been in a submissive posture. But, she was not going to be caught off guard and there was an underlying anger in her eyes. She had obviously been broken down over time, but not completely. It gave Remi some hope that she would survive it all.

After thinking for a bit, Korina answered Carson. "Kravix listened to stories much." She paused. "I listen. I learn."

"So, what was your first language?" He asked. She shrugged and said something in a language neither Carson nor Remi recognized.

"How many do you know?"

Again she shrugged. "I watch. I listen. I learn. No one explain."

"Thank you Korina for letting me run these tests. Are you hungry? I am sure that Remi can help you get something to eat."

She shook her head.

Carson sighed. "Korina, you haven't eaten anything since this morning. You can't get healthy if you don't eat regular meals."

As they all wrapped things up, Cherif barged into the room with a bloody hand. "Damn idiot drunks. Next time, I let them kill each other."

Korina jumped and tried to run. Remi caught her. He quickly cupped her face with one hand and forced her to look at him while he held her with his other arm. "I told you cher, you are safe. I will protect you if you need it. This one is just my brother, needing Carson for a minute. He won't hurt you."

Korina really wanted to trust the man in front of her. It was the first time that she really looked at him. His blond curly hair and blue eyes, his height and muscles. He was the kind of man that truly could protect her, or truly hurt her. She wanted to feel safe. She wanted to be protected. And, he felt so comforting. He seemed sincere. But, she was just so scared it was all a trick.

Especially since the other one looked just like him.


	4. Chapter 4

December 11, 2016

Remi was headed for his room when he overheard Cherif and Dev talking in the hall.

"Seriously Dev, I don't get these rules. Don't look and don't touch. How is a man not supposed to look when she walks out with no bra on? I mean, damn, she was arguing with Aimee about wearing clothes all together. She is one strange and skittish feline."

Remi rolled his eyes and tried to make his way past his brothers. Cherif put an arm out. "Oh, no you don't. You know more about Korina than most people here. You were the one promising to protect her in the clinic the day that she arrived last week."

"Oh was he?" Dev raised a brow.

Remi really didn't want to have this conversation, ever. "She is a girl who needs help. End of story." He tried to move past.

"No way. Spill it Remi." Cherif pushed.

Remi growled. "I don't take orders from you."

"Calm down now." Dev jumped in. "We are just trying to understand this whole secrecy thing."

"Just accept that there are reasons for all of it and let it go." Remi started to physically push passed them again. Until he caught the scent of Korina coming down the stairs. They moved her to a more quiet area on the third floor once Carson was comfortable with her health. She rarely came out of her room. Introducing her to everyone was painful with her hesitations and fears. She only made it through half of the house. After that, they only saw her when she went to the kitchen of the bar to pick up food or down the hall to the restroom. And, she never spoke.

The three brothers all turned to watch her walk up. Korina had her brows creased and jaw clenched shut in a look of absolute frustration. She walked straight up to Remi and shoved a remote control at him.

"Make work, Remi. Please." Cherif and Dev nearly fell over at hearing her speak.

Remi growled. "Why me?"

Unfazed by his attitude, Korina tilted her head, trying to understand the question. "You said you help. If you don't want…" She started to reach for the remote again.

Remi took a breath as he moved it out of her reach. "What are you trying to do?"

"Make work."

"This goes to a television. It does not do anything all by itself." She nodded. "So… someone gave you a television?" She nodded again.

Remi ran a hand over his face. "What idiot would do that and not show you how to use it?"

She thought of the best way to answer that in public. She knew that she could not tell anyone about Savitar's help or that she was Arcadian. "Man that pays for me here."

Remi let out an exasperated breath. "Of course he did. Let's get you set up." Remi said as he started to walk with Korina back toward the stairs.

Dev called them to a stop. "Hold up. Korina, did you honestly know that was Remi you went to?"

She tilted her head with a puzzled expression, but did not answer. She took a step back, slightly behind Remi as she physically began to withdraw from the interaction with someone other than Remi. Something that did not go un-noticed.

Dev pointed at himself, Remi and Cherif. "The three of us are part of a set of identical quadruplets. We are all wearing black shirts and pants. How did you know which one was Remi? Our own family can't tell us apart some of the time."

She pointed to Cherif and quietly spoke. "Cherif smells cologne." Then she pointed at Remi. "Remi smells _saponem_." She shook her head and looked at Remi.

"Soap." He translated from the Latin that she used. Every time he helped Carson check on her, he had noticed that when she didn't know a word in English, she would use whatever else she did know. So far, he had noticed Latin the most, some Greek, and two other languages that he did not know at all.

She dropped her head in frustration with her mistake. "Quinn smells..." She paused, thinking of the word. "Wood. You smell Samia." Samia was Dev's wife, who was currently pregnant with twins.

Dev let out a loud laugh. "Well, I'll be damned." Each of the quads had different personalities and hobbies. Dev obviously spent a lot of time with his mate, so it made sense that he would smell like her. Quinn worked with wood, even did all of the wood detailing around the bar. Cherif was an endless manwhore who always wanted to be ready to flirt. And, Remi, working as the dishwasher for the bar, soap made perfect sense. Yet, in a house full of animals, no one had pointed out the difference in scents before.

Remi rolled his eyes. "Come on Korina. You have a tv to learn how to use."

Remi and Korina started up the stairs and into her room.

Remi started to show her how to use the remote and realized that it didn't work because there were no batteries in the damn thing.

"Seriously? Savitar gave you a television with a remote and no batteries in it? Please, for the love of sanity, don't ever repeat that I called him an idiot Korina. But, damn. No batteries? Why did he give you a tv anyway?"

She shrugged and sat at the edge of her bed. "He asked me need something. I want stories to teach me. Then this." She gestured to the tv with frustration.

Remi conjured some batteries and put them into the remote. "Well, first lesson with the television. The remote is useless without batteries."

"Useless?" She tilted her head. "Has less use?"

Remi smirked. Her quest to understand was rather charming. Almost innocent. "Useless, usually means that it has no use. It can't do anything."

"Oh. Like me." Her eyes dropped.

Remi let out a breath. Why do women always personalize things that were not intended to be about them? "No Korina. You are not useless. You just need time to learn and adjust."

She shook her head. "Before. I had use. To fuck. To feed. To hurt. Now, I don't know. I don't know how to do or help. I cannot magic. I cannot protect. I cannot to speak right. I don't know laws. Not Were-hunter laws. _Kano ta panta lathos_." She growled as she realized that she switched to Greek to whine about how she does everything wrong. "I am useless."

Remi sat next to her. "If you were useless, then how did you get here?"

"Don't understand."

"I want to know how you managed to flash yourself to Sanctuary while you wore a metriazo collar and don't know how to use magic."

She had to think of the words, so it took her a moment to answer. "Kravix keep me with demons, trapped. Only way leave when Kravix called by human for work. It be days or sometimes _tempus amplius_ … longer." She said, shaking her head at another mistake. Then, she took a breath. "Kravix keep me chained to stop from leave. There a man used spells. He talked a spell makes magic bigger, needs blood. Didn't know I listen. I learn. Waited time in mortal world. Kravix sleep. I fight. He dead. Used blood for spell. Stood middle to come here. I cannot know would work."

Remi put his arm around Korina. "See cher, you are not useless. You are smart and found a way to save yourself. You are smart enough to learn languages when no one taught you. You are smart enough to learn how to start your life here as well."

Korina blushed.

Remi continued. "For now, you just focus on eating right and practicing your English. We will help you learn the rest. I know that Aimee was talking to Samia earlier about helping you learn some history. And, with Justin to help you with learning about life as a Were-leopard. Just take it one step at a time."

She nodded. Why was it that everytime she saw Remi, he made her feel better? She didn't even pull away when he touched her. She pulled away from everyone. Just not him.

Then he looked at her. " ** _But_**." He emphasized that word. "We do need to talk about you dressing right."

Korina frowned at him. "I covered."

"Mon cherie, you need to wear a bra." He stood up and moved away from her. He was already reacting to being so close to her, but this conversation would likely send him running straight for a cold shower afterwards.

"Pourquoi?" She heard his use of 'mon cherie' and unconsciously reverted to the same language to ask why.

He laughed. "Parlez-vous francais?"

"Francais?"

"French, it is the name of the language you started to use."

Korina blushed and shrugged her shoulders. "Oh. Un peu. Aussi bon que les autres langues." She was just grateful that she could at least answer some questions. Even just telling him that she knew French ' _about as well as other languages_ ' was better than sounding stupid.

Remi really liked how she blushed. There was something so magnetic about her. She was beautiful and strong with an underlying anger that he could relate to. Yet, she was also innocent and vulnerable, needed protection. The animal in him wanted to camp out by her door to make sure that she was alright every second. But, his brain always pushed him away. He had his own issues to deal with. She did not need to face his shit.

Shaking his head to jar himself back to the topic at hand. "Korina. You spent a very long time being owned and abused by Kravix. I know that you never wore clothing while you grew up with him and it is difficult to get used to clothing after all of that. But, being naked is something that should be private, just for you and eventually for the man that you mate with. If you ever get that far. I am sure that you don't want every man that you pass by to think of having sex with you or try touch you." She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself. "But, in that shirt, it is obvious that you are not wearing a bra. And, once a man notices that, then he will look more at your breasts, and want to touch them, and… keep going."

Her blush darkened. "Oh. I wear it and men will stop looking to me like that?"

"Not entirely, but it will draw less attention. Men around here should always keep their hands to themselves and not touch you if you don't want them to. But, a man's mind can easily enjoy thinking about sex, wanting sex. Wearing a bra will help to limit such thoughts around you."

"Is it easy to see I don't wear panties?"

Remi groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Damn, the woman was making things very painful for him. "That is not as obvious. But, by all of the gods, please don't tell a man that you are not wearing panties unless you want him to have sex with you. That is harder to resist than seeing you not wear a bra."

Korina buried her face in her hands. "They are not comfortable." She mumbled into her hands.

Remi knelt down in front of her and pulled her hands from her face to looked into her eyes. "I am telling you this so that you can learn. I just want to protect you. Not to embarrass you or make you suffer. Okay?" She nodded. "Good. Here is your remote." He quickly showed her how to work her television, then left the room as she was glued to the moving pictures and sounds.

Unfortunately, Dev and Cherif were in the hall and they heard the whole thing. They were full of questions about demons and Savitar, questions that Remi did not answer. "When Savitar says don't talk about it, he means don't talk about it." Then he forced his way past them.


	5. Chapter 5

December 25, 2016

It was Christmas Day. The bar was completely closed to humans, unless they were an extended member of the preternatural community. It was a day where everyone could get out and be themselves around the bar, in whatever form they chose to take.

Remi was working in the kitchen as usual, helping to get food on platters and washing the cooking pots as they all prepared for the family dinner, when Aimee barreled her way out of the house. She marched up to Remi with her hands on her hips.

"You talk to her." She demanded.

Remi rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Korina has locked herself in her room. I seriously don't know what to do about her. She barely looks at me. She mostly growls and hisses at me. But, you, of all people, she opens up to. What the hell?" Aimee's face twisted up in frustration. "So, go talk to her. Get her to come out for a little while."

"Why? If she doesn't want to come, then don't make her."

Aimee narrowed her eyes on Remi. "She doesn't know anything about Christmas yet. How would she know if she likes it or not? And, it is tradition."

Remi sighed as Aimee huffed away. Then he quickly made up a large plate of food for Korina and took it up to her. He knocked and got no answer. Then he tried the door. As Aimee had said, the door was locked. So, he flashed himself inside.

Korina was wrapped up in a blanket on the floor. She had fallen asleep while she watched a Christmas movie on her television. Remi started to smile at how peaceful she looked. That was until he noticed that her bed looked completely made, except for the blanket missing. Did she not sleep in her bed?

Remi set her plate on top of her dresser. He wanted to pick her up to put her into bed, but he wasn't sure she would appreciate that. As he turned to leave, he heard her scream out in a language that he did not understand. Korina threw her arms and legs as if she was fighting off an invisible attacker, growling and hissing as she did.

He ran over to her and pulled her into his arms. "Korina, you are safe. Come on kitten. Wake up. You are safe."

As Korina started to wake from her nightmare, she panicked at the warmth of a person next to her. She feared that it was Kravix again and started to fight him off. Until she heard Remi's voice. His deep, soothing, voice. Then she fell apart and cried.

She didn't know how long she cried for, but Remi was so kind and comforting. She could see on his face that he was worried. However, Korina didn't know how to explain anything. Kravix had her connected to him at all times with a chain. So, when he returned to the book where he was kept with his other demons, she was pulled in with them. In the book, it was loud. She could hear the screams of the others. And, there was a constant hunger. She was used to the hunger. She could live with the screams. Because it was the only time that she was not physically hurt. It was like she was dreaming. And, no one could touch her.

But, eventually, they would all be pulled out and into the mortal world. That was when she got beaten the worst. They were starving and wanted to feed. Kravix rarely beat her himself. He liked to watch, but then he was the first one to fuck her and feed. Then he would watch all of the others have their turn and then take his turn again. She would always fight harder coming out of the book, after going so long without that kind of pain, she tried to make it stop. But, by the time Kravix took his second turn, she barely moved. Then he would lean in and remind her of how her family was all dead. That Savitar killed them all. And, he would kill her if she ever left Kravix's side.

After that, she usually withdrew into herself. He broke her. Every time. That was her life. Abuse. Starvation. Anger. Emptiness.

Every time she fell asleep, waking up was a panic that she was being pulled out of the book again. That she would be beaten again.

Then to hear Remi's voice, she knew she was safe. He had been true to his word. He had protected her and she was safe.

"Korina?" He started to talk and waited to see if she was ready to talk back. She looked up at him with her golden eyes. "Why did you lock your door?"

She looked down as she thought about the answer. "Some days okay. Some days bad."

"Was today a bad day?"

She nodded. His heart broke for her. He knew that kind of emotional bad day. Not to her extreme, but still, he understood. He had grieved for his brothers deaths, for his parents deaths, for the loss of the woman he loved. He understood her desire to be lone with the emotions, hide the weakness from others, not face the world until he felt stronger again.

"You know, Aimee came up here to see if you would come down stairs for the Christmas dinner and spend time getting to know everyone."

Korina shook her head quickly.

"I won't make you. But, I did bring some dinner to you." He stood up to get her plate and give it to her. As she ate, he asked more questions. "Korina, why don't you like Aimee?"

Korina shrugged. "Eyes sad when looks me. And, tv shows women mean. I no want be problem. Just be alone."

He chuckled. "The tv shows women are mean? Do you mean that you haven't met women before?"

She shook her head. "All demons male."

"I see. And what shows were you watching that showed women were mean?"

Korina tilted her head in between bites. "Change shows. See 'Bachelor' and 'Days of Our Lives'. History Channel and PBS most... and Christmas stories."

Remi let out a laugh. "I would suggest that you stick to History Channel and PBS then. Shows like the 'The Bachelor' and 'Days of Our Lives' are not real. They are all about the drama, the problems. Don't think that all people are really like that. And, it would help if you actually talked to Aimee instead of growling and hissing at her all of the time."

She glared at Remi. "Come on Korina. I know you can talk. You do with me. Aimee is just trying to help."

Ignoring his push for her to talk to Aimee, she set her plate down as she finished eating. Once her stomach got used to eating, Korina gained a hearty appetite. Though, she never asked for more.

"Now that you are feeling better and ate something, will you come down to see everyone?" Remi asked after he realized she would not answer about Aimee yet.

Korina shook her head quickly and backed away.

"Hey, hey. Why are you so scared? You have met most everyone already." He asked.

She looked around, not sure what to say. "Demons."

"What demons?"

"Heard Griffe say demons come to dinner."

Remi's jaw dropped. He had not occurred to him that Simi and Xirena were invited to the dinner. He took a deep breath. "I am so sorry Korina. I didn't even think about that and how it would affect you. But, these demons are nice. They are our friends. They won't hurt you."

Korina stayed withdrawn.

Remi moved closer. He ran his fingers through her long soft brown hair, soothingly. "Both Simi and Xirena are Charonet demons. They don't drink the blood of anyone. Technically they would just rip whatever they wanted to eat apart and dig in. But, Acheron has them on a don't kill diet. So, instead, they eat more than the entire family combined in steak, ribs, turkey and chocolate. I promise. You don't have to be afraid of them hurting you. And, I will be there."

Korina hesitantly nodded. While she got dressed to leave her room, Remi flashed himself down stairs to explain everything to Acheron. Hopefully, giving the demons a warning before hand would help things go smoothly.

* * *

"Hey Ash. Do you have a minute?" Remi said as he walked up to the leader of the Dark-Hunters. A group of immortal hunters charged by the goddess Artemis to kill daimons, who feed off of human souls. Though, Acheron was far more than just a Dark-Hunter and everyone knew it. He just didn't like to share too much. Still, he was a friend to the Peltier family and now that he lived in New Orleans with his wife Tory and children, he was even more likely to bring them to Sanctuary for the holidays.

Ash nodded. "So, you want me to wrangle the demons in?"

Remi gave a half laugh. Yeah. Acheron had some freaky ability to know things. "Would it be possible?"

Ash tilted his head and looked at Remi closely and appeared to be listening to something. It was a move similar to what Savitar did when he first touched Korina. It made Remi uncomfortable. Then, the man smiled. "Simi. Xirena."

"Yes akri." They both answered in their sing-songy voices. Both demons looked like young goth girls in their early 20's. Which matched Acheron's total goth look perfectly.

"There is a new person staying here at Sanctuary. Her name is Korina. She is scared. She was hurt by demons before. Please, can you take extra care not to scare her?"

Xirena grumbled. "Yes akri."

Simi turned on her sister. "What is wrong with yous? Akri asked nicely."

"It is fun to scare people." Xirena pouted.

"But, the girl's Remi's friend. Remi is quality people, even if he's cranky. He needs more friends. More friends might makes him less cranky. So, be nice and don't scare her away." Simi scolded as they walked away.

Remi groaned. "I don't even want to know how I got pulled into that explanation. But, thanks." Then he returned to make sure Korina didn't face it all alone.

Once down stairs, Simi ran over to Korina. Aimee saw it and nearly dropped the platter of food she was carrying. She obviously had not thought about Korina's reaction to Simi either. But, Remi put his hand on her back and spoke softly in her ear.

"It's alright Korina. I am right here. Simi won't hurt you. I promise."

Simi bounced up and down for a second. "You is the new girl. The Simi likes to meet new peoples. Akri said nots to scare you. But, the Simi is not scary unless you hurts the Simi's family. But, you, you looks too nice to want to hurt the Simi's family. And, if Remi says you are his friend then you are the Simi's family too." Simi reached for Korina's hand, but Korina pulled back quickly with a sharp breath in.

Simi looked hurt. Korina didn't know what to do. She didn't like to be touched, especially by a demon. But, she didn't want to hurt a friend of Remi's who was obviously trying to be nice. So, she very hesitantly reached her hand back out toward the demon. Simi smiled, showing her fangs. Korina stopped. But, Simi reached out and took Korina's hand.

Simi then pulled Korina into a hug, oblivious to the fear of the other woman. Korina tensed and started to panic. Simi was much stronger than she looked. Was this all a trick? What was going on? "Korina. Now yous are protected." Simi pulled back and placed a kiss on Korina's cheek. "If anyone hurt you again, you tell the Simi. The Simi will eats them. Especially mean, nasty demons. They tastes really good with barbecue sauce." Simi let go and turned to skip her way across the room.

Korina nearly collapsed in the flood of competing emotions. She was terrified, confused, yet, strangely comforted by the demon. Remi helped her to a chair to sit down. Once he saw her slowly regain her composure, he returned to the kitchen to help with the last of the food to be served before everyone ate.

Remi watched her for the rest of the evening. Korina mostly remained quiet. But, she watched. A few people tried to talk to her, however she was so closed off that it did not last long. Remi even tried to remind her to talk. But, then he laughed at himself for the hypocrisy. He hated to talk to people too. Eventually, Acheron made his way over to her. Remi didn't know what Ash said to her. Yet, she seemed to relax a little.

* * *

Remi finally allowed himself to smile as he stood in the privacy of his shower. Korina got out of her room and tried. She did not stay out with the family for long. But, she did try. And, he felt a sense of pride and accomplishment in getting her there. As much as Remi understood her desire to pull away and hide, he wanted to see her open up. He wanted her to eventually find happiness. And, he knew that would not happen locked away in her room.

Because she had no real knowledge or money in advance, she had no way to get gifts for anyone in the family for Christmas. Remi understood, as did Aimee, Fang, and Carson. The others did not know her well enough to expect anything. However, they had all gone in together to give her a gift. She did not find it until she returned to her room.

Carson had noticed that Korina doodled on his papers when she waited for his check up exams. So, they got her a set of sketch books and pencils. They also got a series of 'How to Draw' books showing how to draw various animals and plants. One whole book devoted to large cats.

Remi had hoped to see her face when she saw the art supplies, however, she snuck away quietly. It did not take long for her to run back down the stairs to find Aimee, who had placed it all in her room once Aimee saw her with the family for dinner. Korina hesitantly hugged the bearswan with a quiet 'thank you'. The look on Aimee's face was priceless. That hug was more of a Christmas present than anything Korina could have purchased for her. Remi watched the same look cover the faces of Carson and Fang as she offered the same hesitant appreciation to them after Aimee told her who all had helped with the gift. Then Remi walked into the house. He tried to run from the hug. He knew how much such an act would affect him. He didn't want her to know. Worse, he didn't want his family or Becca to see anything of the sort. It was best to walk away.

Korina, however, had other plans. She followed his scent to his room. When Remi opened the door, she threw her arms around him and gave her quiet thanks. Remi quietly wrapped his arms around her small frame. The warmth of her settled his nerves deeply. Unfortunately, it also burned through him and pulled at his sensitive anatomy. He tried to ignore that growing need. "Merry Christmas Korina. I am glad you liked your gift."

"I don't have gift to you." She looked up. Her eyes worried as if she did something wrong.

Remi smiled down at her. "Your trust and hug are more than enough of a gift. Thank you for trusting me enough to come down to meet the rest of the family today."

To his surprise, her brows creased. "Too much. Tomorrow, alone, please."

"Of course. Christmas is only one day a year. You can stay alone tomorrow if you want."

She nodded. "You okay. No other people." She turned and left.

The physical contact with her had left his pants feeling tight. So, he went to take a cold shower. That was where he finally allowed for the memories to settle in. It felt really nice to be trusted by someone again. The best Christmas in a very long time.

* * *

 _ **Please don't forget to give me reviews. I am honestly looking for constructive criticism. I have very little feed back to let me know if I am headed the right direction with my writing style. I like playing with the various kinds of relationships that this world offers, but I want things to be as emotionally realistic as possible.**_


	6. Chapter 6

January 27, 2017

Over the following month, Remi and Carson coaxed Korina into a routine of sitting in the living room for a while every night. If only to spend time around people. Even if she didn't really socialize. Other than that, she rarely left her room and almost never ventured into the bar.

Yet, Korina slowly started to open up around people, very slowly. She had never really had conversations with others before. So, it was difficult to feel comfortable with them unless it was to learn something. And, even then, she mostly just listened to the information, asking or answering questions only when needed.

She really only felt comfortable talking more openly with Carson or Remi. They knew who she was and what she had gone through. They did not judge or pity her. Korina finally started to talk to Aimee. Aimee was nice, but Korina still saw pity in her eyes. Fang, his eyes showed that he was haunted by his own past when he looked at her. Most others looked at her like she was strange and they didn't know about her past. So, it was harder to feel comfortable with them.

She really did not like to be touched. And, clothing was still itchy and uncomfortable. So, she started wearing long, loose clothing; long sleeves and long skirts mostly. Everyone seemed to understand and tried to avoid touching her whenever possible.

She met with Dr. Grace Alexander every week. Her husband had been trapped in a book too. She was a nice woman who just let her talk. But, the problem was that Korina didn't really like to talk, especially about her past. Dr. Grace told her that it would just take time. It wasn't that she was ashamed of what happened to her. It happened. There was no changing it. However, Korina didn't like the way people looked at her when she told them. The sadness. The pity. She felt weak when they looked at her like that. So, she kept quiet.

Mostly though, Korina just watched. She watched people, listened to conversations, learned from the silent observations of what was happening around her. And, if she wasn't out of her room watching, she was in her room watching tv. She was enthralled by the information she saw. Though it took her a while to learn that most of it was fiction, just stories that actors recreated. However, it did help her to learn more modern phrases and pronunciations. Her English improved quickly.

There was all just so much new stuff to learn and process. Some days were easier than others. There were times when she still curled up on the floor and cried. But, she was slowly starting to feel safe.

Korina had left her room to head over to find Samia for some more history lessons. She really had not learned much before she was sold and after, was even more confusing. So, she was doing what she could to at least learn enough to sound reasonably normal to people. And, since Samia was a five thousand year old immortal, married to Remi's brother Dev, she was a good person to listen to.

On her way, Remi came flying out of his room. He growled as he nearly ran her down. Korina straightened up and crossed her arms. "What you say grumpy bear?"

Remi paused and looked at her. In his hurry, he had not even realized that it was Korina. But, she had been with the family for a month and a half now. He talked to her sometimes, but she knew that he mostly kept his distance from everyone. Yet, she completely ignored that fact.

"Where did you learn that phrase?" He demanded.

She tilted her head. "What phrase?"

Remi glared at her. "Grumpy bear."

"Sesame Street." Korina answered flatly, unaware of just how much that affected Remi. He was caught somewhere between being insulted that she called him something from a kids show, and wanting to break out laughing at how utterly adorable the whole thing was. But, for the sake of saving his "rip your throat out" masculine image and trying to keep her at arm's length, he opted for acting like his usual grizzly self.

"Don't call me that." He growled.

Korina looked up at him. "Remi, you don't scare me. I understand you scare other people. But, I see you. You attack men, mostly your brothers. But, you not hurt a woman. And, you promised to protect me. Stop trying to scare me."

That frustrated him. He wanted her to keep her distance. He pushed everyone away. But, Korina, he needed to push away. He had allowed her to get too close. He didn't want to really scare her, but he knew that if she didn't stay away from him that he would do just that. He was too volatile and fucked up. She had been through enough, she didn't need to see him at his worst.

The hardest part for Remi was how much his body reacted when she was around. The way her light golden eyes haunted him at night. The way he wanted to run his fingers through her soft long brown hair. The scent of her made his body instantly hard. He craved to be near her. To protect her. He growled again as he tried to push those thoughts and reactions away.

"The growling is boring. If you are going to walk on human legs, then you have a human mouth to say hi, or sorry, or something. You made me learn to talk to people sometimes."

Remi's brows creased. "Bye." Then he walked away.

"At least it is a word grumpy bear. _Merci_." She scowled after him.


	7. Chapter 7

February 5, 2017

Remi knocked on Korina's door. He knew that Justin was in there with her. Justin had been helping Korina learn about being a feline Were-animal. They all debated whether or not they wanted to ask Angel to help her since he actually was a leopard instead of the panther that Justin was. But, Korina heard that Justin was mated so he could not have sex with any woman but his mate. That helped her to relax with him, a little. And, he was already part of the inner circle of knowledge that she was Arcadian, since he had seen her when she arrived and passed out in Remi's arms. So, having him help, just kept information more contained.

"Dinner is here." Remi announced as he opened the door to her room. Justin had requested that Remi join them this time. As much as Remi's head told him to stay away from Korina, there was always another reason to see her. Something she needed help with. Someone asking him to deal with her for whatever reason. He always grumbled about having to do it. Yet, secretly, he was thrilled at spending more time with her. For a bear that always wanted to be alone. He actually enjoyed his time with the leopard. Maybe he was a masochist?

Remi walked in and to his surprise, Korina was pacing around the room in her animal form. She wasn't just a leopard. She was a beautiful snow leopard. Her fur carried the same pale golden tone as her skin, it was spread across her back, over her head and on to her face. Her undersides were white. It was all contrasted with her spots and markings in jet black. Yet, her eyes remained the same. That pale golden sand color that matched her skin. She was striking and elegant.

"Thanks Remi." Justin said as Remi shut the door. "Give her a few minutes. Korina, you need to stay in that form as long as possible. I know it is hard. It is draining to be in your alternate form during the day and we have an hour before sunset. But, if you are going to pass yourself off as Katagaria, you have to make yourself walk around the house in this form during the day every once in awhile. Even if it is just down the hall to the bathroom and back. If everyone sees you only in human form walking around the house all day, every day, they will question it. Even more since you are so weakened right now."

"Then, I can go back to stay in my room all the time." Korina projected into their heads.

Justin shook his head. "No. You need to get out more. But, the more you get out, the more you have to pay attention to showing your animal side. It was fine before because you were so shy, everyone assumed that you just didn't feel safe to be yourself yet. However, now, people will start to notice. You have to put in the effort. Fortunately, the fact that you were not raised around Arcadians or humans has allowed you to accept your animal instincts and behaviors more. That helps."

Remi watched her with a smirk on his lips. She was moving and stretching, testing out her feline body. She saw him watch her and hissed. That succeeded in getting a laugh out of him.

Justin raised a brow at him.

"What?" Remi asked. He sure as hell was not going to admit that he thought that she was adorable when she hissed and growled at him. Even more so when she was in her cat form. He was so used to being the one that pushed everyone away. And, the way that she ignored his gruffness then turned around to throw it right back at him, it was endearing. As much as he hated to admit that.

The panther shook his head at Remi.

"Okay, turn around so I can change human." Korina said in their heads. Both men complied.

Korina was still more comfortable naked. Yet, she was learning to appreciate not being naked in front of men. However, she just started learning how to change between human and leopard. And, she had not been able to use her magic to put clothes on yet. So, when she became human again, she was naked.

"Thank you for the dinner Remi." Korina ran past him to get her plate once she was dressed. She went to sit on her bed with her plate of food.

"Welcome. I see the lessons are coming along." He said. She nodded as she chewed on her steak.

Justin chuckled. "Actually, I think that we got through most of the basics. But, I asked you to join us because we are going to have to get into some more sensitive subjects. Korina seems to trust you, so it might be better if you are here for this part."

Korina looked at him and gulped. "What?"

"Korina, you need to learn about sex as a Were-animal as well as mating and bonding." Justin said calmly. Remi was nervous. This was not really a conversation he wanted to be here for. But, he couldn't let Justin see just how much it affected him. How much she affected him. And he really didn't want Korina to flip out.

Korina shook her head. "I know how to be fucked. I don't want to learn more."

Justin tilted his head. "I am not talking about being fucked. I am talking about the customs and rules around it all. So that you understand what is going on around you, with your body, and if you ever do decide to have sex, what the possible consequences are."

She tilted her head down to glare at him. Her growl was more feral than Remi had heard from her in a while. "I don't need to know. I don't want to be hurt again."

The two men looked at each other. Remi took a deep breath. He really didn't want to know the answer to this question, but he had to ask. "What happened to you with Kravix?"

She looked at him. Still cautious. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you connect sex with being hurt?" He clarified.

"Does sex not hurt for your women?" She asked.

Remi shook his head. "No. Not when it is with someone who treats you well. Some people enjoy having some pain in their sex. But, if you don't like that, then make sure your partner knows. Sex is supposed to feel good, for both of you."

"If anything, it is painful for the males when we talk about wolves, panthers or leopards. I am assuming with your concerns, that you are not like that." Justin added.

Her eyes dropped to the floor. She pressed her lips together as she thought through it all. She never saw or experienced any other way. It was always painful. She took a breath. "They always beat me first. Kravix said that it made my blood taste better. Then, they feed off of me while they fucked me. That is how they always fed." She shrugged. "Beating and biting. It always hurt."

Justin's voice was barely more than a whisper as he asked her how often that happened.

Again, she shrugged. "No clocks."

"So it was every day?" She just nodded.

Remi's breath left his lungs. He knew it was bad for her before. But, shit. They beat her and fed off of her every day? It took him a moment before he could breath enough to even respond. He ran his hands over his face. "Korina. That is not normal. At least not for Were-Hunters."

"But, we need to prepare her for bonding." Justin jumped in.

Remi dropped his head back to the wall.

Justin and Remi did their best to explain the rules of being mated without getting too much into sex itself. How the Fates decide who a Were-Hunter would be mated to. That the mating mark would show up only after having sex with the person that the Fates had chosen as a mate. There would only be three weeks after that to decide if they would accept each other and complete the mating. Only after being mated would the couple be able to have children and only together. The males would become impotent around any other women. The women could still have sex with other men. Though, both men discouraged that particular practice. The couple would then be committed like that until the other mate dies. However, everything about accepting the male was in the female's hands. And, if a female did not accept a male, then that man was impotent to all women for the rest of the female's life.

Justin took a deep breath. "But, Korina, you need to know about bonding. If you do find a man that you trust enough to have sex with and eventually find a mate and accept him, then when you have sex with your mate, there is a magical surge to bond with your mate. It can be painful for a man while he withholds that impulse. But, it can be ignored. Never feel like you need to bond."

She tilted her head. "Why?"

"Bonding is a mixing of life forces. It would bind you to your mate. It is a statement that you love your mate enough that you do not want to live without them. Because once your life forces are mixed, when one dies, so does the other. But, to complete the bonding, you would need to bite into the neck of your mate and drink from their blood while he does the same to you, as you have sex. It is magically charged so that it is intensely sexual and not painful. However, with your past. You need to know about that one part of Were mating that does involve being bitten during sex." Justin paused and added emphasis to his words. "It should always be your choice Korina. If your mate ever tried to push you into that… Hell, with your past, I would say that he is shit if he is ignoring your trauma and pushing for it anyway. Kill the bastard and hope you find another mate later. Only do it if it is something that you choose."

She nodded. Korina was overwhelmed. It was so much to learn. So much she did not want to know yet. Still, she was grateful that she did know it. She did not want to sound stupid by not knowing something as significant as this for most people.

Korina finally growled. "I don't like this learning. I want to be safe. I want to learn to smile."

Remi and Justin looked at each other.

"Hey man, you are on your own with this one." Remi growled. "I am a mean bastard who doesn't make anyone smile. Wouldn't know where to start." Then he started to leave.

"My mate got herself arrested and abandoned me when I traded myself for her release. Now I am trapped in this dump to protect my son because she did such a bang up job on the motherhood front as well. How in the hell am I supposed to know how to make a woman smile? I obviously did not make her happy."

Remi rolled his eyes. "We are both pathetic."

"Korina, let us research this one and try it tomorrow. Alright?" Justin asked as he got ready to leave.

She nodded. Remi could hear her sigh of disappointment as she closed the door behind the two men. He couldn't blame her. She had never had a reason to smile. And even now, it was all emotional crap and learning tons of information. She had to be overwhelmed. She needed something to smile about. So, once Justin had disappeared around the corner, Remi flashed himself into Korina's room.

She jumped when she saw him.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I just. I wanted to try something."

"What?"

Remi had seen plenty of Valentine's advertisements lately, where women smiled when they got flowers. So, he used his magic to conjure a bouquet of brightly colored flowers. Nothing romantic, like roses. Just pretty carnations and such.

He watched as her eyes widened and lit up to see them. A small smile tugged at the edges of her lips. Then she leaned in to sniff at the flowers and felt the softness of the petals on her cheek. Her smile grew. She nuzzled into the flowers. Damn, he wished she was doing that against him.

Clearing his throat. "Here. You can keep them. They will fade over the next few days. But, you can enjoy them until they too wilted to keep."

Her smile was the widest yet. "Thank you grumpy bear. I have not seen real flowers before." He didn't think that she could be more beautiful until he saw her smile.

Then he left again. Quickly. Before he did something exceptionally stupid, like try to kiss her.


	8. Chapter 8

March 11, 2017

Korina was walking Dr. Grace out of the house after one of their therapy sessions. Remi sat on the couch in the living room, reading on his day off from the bar. Remi had been distant over the prior weeks. Korina didn't know why. But, it hurt her. Had she said or done something wrong? Remi had been one of the only people that she actually felt comfortable being around. Not just making it through the exchange. She even liked to talk to him. Korina stopped and stepped into the living room on her way back.

"What are you reading?" She asked.

Remi growled.

She crossed her arms and tilted her head waiting for a response.

"The Count of Monte Cristo. Why?" He asked as he flipped to the next page.

Korina sat down next to Remi. "I am curious. Is it a good story?"

He looked sideways at her. "Don't you know the story? It's famous."

Korina dropped her eyes and she shrunk back. Remi suddenly remembered that she had been imprisoned for so long, of course she wouldn't know the story.

"Shit. I am sorry Korina. I didn't think that one through." Gods, he really was an asshole. "Here, you can read it if you want."

She shook her head. "I don't know how." Her voice was so low that he wasn't sure he heard her correctly.

"Are you serious?"

She took a breath. "That is why I have been watching so much television. I have been trying to learn information."

"Korina, you have been here nearly four months. Why didn't you tell anyone that you couldn't read? We would have taught you."

Her eyes were still down. "I am _impeditis_."

Remi wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple. "You don't need to be _embarrassed_."

She sighed. "What language is _impeditis_?"

"Latin. You have the right meaning, you just mix up the languages sometimes. You are doing really well learning your English. You are learning it faster than I did. Just relax."

She growled at herself. "I feel like I already take too much of everyone's time. I don't work here to help. I am too much weight. I can't ask for more help to learn other things like reading."

"I will help teach you to read. Just not today. Alright?"

Remi let his head fall back. He had been trying to avoid Korina. After the flowers that he gave her, he didn't want her to get the wrong idea of where things were headed. Aw hell, who was he kidding? He didn't want himself to get the wrong idea of where things were headed. Especially with all of the lovey dovey Valentine's crap around for a few weeks after that.

He kept having to remind himself that she was too traumatized to want any man in her life. And, he was too fucked up to be any good for anyone. As much as he knew that he should let go of his feelings for Rebecca, he never had been able to do that. It would be better for everyone. But, the second that he would think that he could, something would happen and Becca would draw him back in. She would need help. Or, he would see her smile. Or, going the other extreme, he would find out that she was pregnant again. As had happened earlier that day.

That was why he was trying to read. After breaking some furniture, he was trying to get his mind on other things. But, then Korina was there. Somehow, he just couldn't be angry at her. He couldn't really be angry around her. She distracted him from it all. He wished he knew if that was all she was. A distraction.

The only friend that he ever really had, was Jenna. She was a demigod that stayed at Sanctuary for several months while her husband was imprisoned. She more or less forced herself onto Remi in a similar way to what Korina did. She just steamrolled past the growls and attempts to keep her away and talked to him anyway, with a smile. The difference was that Jenna was happily married, so there never was a question of interest. And, she was brilliant as hell and well trained. So, she did not need help. She simply dragged him out of the house for a movie or a ride on a motorcycle and they would not talk much, just get out and relax a little.

But, now she lived with her husband and had a son to take care of. Plus, the fact that Jenna could absorb people's memories, that had left him avoiding her since Korina arrived in order to help comply with Savitar's orders of secrecy. Jenna was magically incapable of telling someone's secrets. But, Remi didn't know if Savitar would still consider it a breach of information. So, best to try to prevent that mistake.

There was a part of him that wanted to talk to Jenna about Korina, ask her what he should do. But, he knew that would be huge mistake. Because he knew what she would say and he wasn't ready to let go of Becca yet. So, once again, he was alone. And it hurt. No one deserved a screwed up asshole like him. Especially not someone with a past like Korina's. His life was messed up enough with one women he could not have. He really didn't need another. Life would be a hell of a lot easier if he could get himself to stop wanting things that were beyond his reach. Yet, he never could succeed in following his own advice.

"Remi, you are… _tendu_." She frowned, pulling him from his spiraling thoughts.

"Tense. _Tendu_ is French. Tense is English." He corrected.

She gave a shy smile. "Tense. You are tense. Did I do something wrong?"

Remi tilted head. What would she have done wrong? Other than being a vulnerable, captivating, beautiful woman that made his body hot and sent his mind spiral between wanting to protect her, wanting to kiss her, and wanting to push her away? "No."

"Can I try to help?" She asked hesitantly.

"What did you have in mind?"

She stood up and coaxed him to turn in the couch so that she could sit behind him. Then she reached up to start rubbing his shoulders. Her hands were magic on his muscles. He moaned as she worked deeper into the tissues, loosening the muscles that had been tight from stress and emotion. He was putty in her hands. Remi had never let anyone close enough to him to have had a massage before. Even Becca had never offered such a thing. It was is if all of his stress dripped away until he wanted to sleep for the rest of the week.

"Shit. Korina, I don't want to hear you say that you don't know anything, ever again. This is amazing. I think this could be your job around the house, help us all relax." Then he laughed. "Hell no. I am not telling anyone about this. I don't want anyone else to know just what a treasure you are." Remi had not even realized what he had said until it was far too late to change anything about it, and he was too relaxed to rush toward a correction that he wouldn't mean anyway. She _was_ a treasure. And, he liked the idea of keeping her to himself. He was growing more possessive of her. He didn't want to see her hands on other men.

Korina blushed furiously. Thank the gods that Remi was facing away from her. He seemed to always make her feel better about herself.


	9. Chapter 9

March 22, 2017

It was around lunch time when Korina finally stepped out of her room for the day. She had been binge watching shows from the History Channel, trying to learn more. As she climbed down some stairs, she saw a bear cub go scurrying around a corner. With a hint of a smile, she went after the little cub. She knew they were mischievous little buggers.

She found Beau hiding under someone's bed. He was one of the younger cubs in the house.

Remi had started to leave his room when he caught sight of Korina heading into Kyle's room next door.

The night that she arrived, holding her asleep in his arms, she touched him. He knew it was crazy and beyond stupid. She was a leopard and he was a bear. But, it was the first time since Becca mated with Quinn that Remi wanted to feel that intimacy again, with someone that wasn't mated to his brother. It was such a small thing to hold her while she cried. And, with all of her horrors, he could not even begin to think of trying to flirt with her. Yet, despite all of the logic and reason in the world, she cracked his defenses. A small crack that grew each time he erupted in anger, only to have her sooth his soul with a shy smile, an adorable growl, or one of her amazing massages. Slowly, she made him _want_ to have hope again.

He was starting to feel like he had split personalities. Becca's pregnancy rubbed it into his face that she had sex with his brother. Their children looked like the children he wanted to have with her. Every time he saw Quinn or Becca, his anger spiked and he would be explosive around everyone.

Until he saw Korina. Whenever Korina needed help, he tried to be gruff, like he was with everyone else. But, she would just tilt her head and look at him like he was being an idiot and then continue on as if he had no choice in the matter. Then his will power would crumble and he would help, kindly and patiently. Even the reading lessons started the same way, every time. He was not used to being nice or patient. He had so much to be angry about. Yet, he couldn't help but be calm and patient around her. She soothed him.

However, then he would panic that he would scare her. He tried to avoid her, tried to push her away. Still, she kept coming to him. Needing his help, ignoring his surly attitude and placing trust in him. It felt so good to be needed. To be trusted. To have someone seek him out and want to be around him. Even if just for a few minutes to help with something. To have a person offer comfort with no expectation of something in return.

His emotions were on a constant roller coaster ride between the two women that captured his attention. Yet, he knew he could never have either of them. He was a fucking idiot.

He stepped back, into his room, not wanting to be seen as he listened to Korina while she entered his brother's room. A flash of jealousy coursed through him as he expected to hear Kyle's voice in there with her. But, he was surprised to hear Korina talk to one of the cubs.

"Now Beau, you know you are not supposed to be in your uncle's room. Come out from under the bed before you get caught." The cub whined. "I know, you like to get out and play. But, this is not the place for that. Come on." There was a pause. "Do I need to become a big kitty and carry you by your scruff? Yeah, I didn't think so."

Remi smiled at the exchange, until he heard Becca's voice join them. "Good grief Beau, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Thank you Korina for finding him." Remi nearly groaned at the sound of Becca's voice. The first time he started to actually think of another woman besides Becca and she was there in the middle of it all. Damn. Way to make things more complicated.

"It's alright." Korina returned to her more quiet voice. Remi was amazed at how confident she was with the cub. Like she was every time she talked to Remi. She wasn't like that with most people. Remi hated that submissive tone she had around others. He wanted her to find her strength.

Becca stopped once she had the cub in her arms. "Seriously, Korina, you will make a great mother one day. I know you won't talk about your past. I get that it was bad. But, I wish you would get out there and try."

Korina was stunned by Becca's statement. "I am not ready. And I don't think that I could ever have kids. It's complicated."

Becca smiled at her. "I don't know. Even without kids, you deserve to find happiness." She paused. "What about Angel? He is a leopard."

Korina blushed. "No thank you." Korina had seen the interest between Angel and another woman in the house. She had no desire to cause problems.

Remi couldn't take it anymore. Listening to Becca, of all people, trying to set Korina up with Angel? Remi left his room quickly and passed the two women in the hall as he headed into the kitchen to start his shift. He ignored Becca when she called after him.

Korina noticed the look in Becca's eyes. She had heard the basic story between Remi, Becca and Quinn. It was truly tragic. Mostly, she felt bad for Remi. Becca made her choices. But, Remi was the one who had to live with them. He showed such strength of character and an insane depth for love. She knew that she wasn't ready to pursue anything with anyone, but deep down, she wished that it would be with Remi, or someone just like him. Someone capable of that kind of love and fiercely protective. Someone who made her feel safe and secure.

* * *

Once Remi was in the kitchen, his mood did not improve. The morning washer left early due to some school project so there were dishes backed up and then some. Remi set to work scrubbing and hosing the dishes as quickly as he could.

It didn't take long before his youngest brother, Kyle wandered into the kitchen to take over guard duty at the door leading to the house. He walked up to Colt to let him get so sleep. "Hey Colt, have you seen miss kitty today?"

Colt rolled his eyes. "Could you be more immature and stupid? Rules are to keep your eyes and hands off of her. Remember?"

"Why is that?" Kyle asked. "She is hot. You can't send a steak into a dog kennel and not expect them to at least drool."

"Good analogy." Remi growled. "Now that you have accepted the fact that you are a dog, can you shut the hell up."

Kyle acted shocked. "Seriously? No one is even acknowledging that the girl is tempting?"

Colt groaned. "I am quite happily mated. I don't notice other women enough to break rules."

"You are just no fun any more Colt. I have never been with a cat before, I wonder what…"

"Shut up about Korina. She is not notch on your bedpost boy." Remi was losing the very miniscule amount of control on his anger. Fast.

Kyle's eyes grew wide. "You aren't serious, are you? You like her?"

Remi threw a fist at Kyle and the two went down in flurry of punches until Remi was able to pin Kyle by the neck. Remi had too much pent up anger to hold back. Kyle was starting to turn blue.

"Time to let him go now Remi."

Everyone turned to see Korina standing there as she watched the scene. Tears filled her large, light golden eyes. Remi had never seen eyes like hers before. He could stare into them for hours. Hell, he did stare into them for hours as he helped her learn to read.

To Colt and Kyle's surprise, Remi did as she said. Remi's rage was usually off the charts and it took several brothers to get him to calm down enough to walk away. Colt had already called for help as he was trying to get Remi off of Kyle. Dev and Cody were at the door by the time they all stopped.

Remi growled as he let go of Kyle. Then he stood up. "Apologize to the woman and thank her for saving your ass."

Kyle glared at his brother. "Sorry and thanks. I guess." He said to Korina. But, he looked at Remi as though he had sprouted horns on his head.

Korina sighed and knelt down to the floor near Kyle. Her voice was more confident than when she spoke to Becca. "I am not angry with you. But, I..." She looked around to see that the kitchen staff quietly moved out while Remi attacked his brother. They were so used to the fights and odd things happening that they just rolled with it.

Then she continued. "I came to Sanctuary when I managed to escape the demons who had me enslaved for a very long time. They hurt me every day." Kyle's eyes dropped from her's as he listened to her confession.

A tear slid down her cheek. "So, no. I don't want to hear anything that makes me feel like an object or a slave again. That is what Aimee, Fang and Remi are trying to protect me from. Please understand. That is why I don't like to be touched and why I am not normal."

"I am sorry Korina."

She stood up and looked at Remi. "Thank you for protecting me grumpy bear." She placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Then she returned to the house, with her arms wrapped tightly around her.


	10. Chapter 10

Remi ran after her. It was the first time that he knew of where she saw him fight. Where she saw his anger. And, he saw the tears in her eyes. She left before getting her lunch. He was scared that it was because of him. "Korina, wait. I am sorry about what you saw. I didn't mean to scare you. I know that I am a violent man and I scare everyone. But,..."

Korina only turned her head to look over her shoulder. "I am not scared of you, Remi. You were being protective of me. I appreciate that. It makes me feel safe, knowing that you really will fight to defend me." She paused. "But, I _am_ scared for you."

He stopped. "What does that mean?"

Korina turned to face him. Remi stood several inches taller than her, very muscular which showed more in his tight black Sanctuary t-shirt. His shoulder length dark blond curls were pulled back into a ponytail at the back, though several curls had escaped in the fight. She wondered what it would feel like to run her fingers through his hair. His blue eyes scorched her.

"Remi, I have watched a lot over the past few months. I have seen you in fights. I have seen you in anger. Mostly, I have seen your pain and you be alone. I understand both of those. I have been alone and in pain, for a long time. Using the fight, the anger, and the being alone. To do anything to not let people get close so you won't get hurt again."

Korina took a deep breath, trying to make sure that her words were correct. "The difference was that I was enslaved. I didn't have a choice. You are only enslaved to your own anger and fear. You have pushed your family away for so long that they no longer try to get close. And, because they don't try, you feel hurt again. It is all a circle with you left alone even among so many people who care, even if they don't show it. And, the only one who can stop it is you. You have too choose to open up to someone. To want something better for yourself."

She reached up and cupped his face. "Don't let your pain kill you the way my life killed part of me. I see how close you are. That is what I fear for you. I don't wish you to feel the kind of death inside that I feel."

Remi melted into the warmth of her skin on his. Her hands were so soft. He wanted to crumble into her arms. He wanted to open up to her, to let her comfort him. More than that, he wanted to take away her pain. But, he couldn't cross that line with her. He couldn't risk scaring her, hurting her. Or worse, hearing her reject him.

Korina let her hand fall away. "Thank you for being so protective of me. I know that it is not something you do easy."

Korina crossed her arms tightly and walked back up the stairs.

She fought the sudden urge that she had to throw herself into his arms. The truth was that she felt better around him, less dead. He was so protective. So, wonderful. She sighed. But, he loved Becca. And, it was obvious earlier that Becca still loved him. She just wanted to see him be happy instead of so miserable.

* * *

Dev stopped Remi as he walked back out of the house and pulled him into the back room. "What in the hell just happened?"

"What?" Remi growled at his brother.

Dev gestured to the kitchen area. "That."

"Kyle was disrespecting the rules about Korina. So, I made him stop. I didn't know she was listening." Then Remi tried to push his way past. But, Dev was firm.

"Sure. Like I believe that is all of it."

"What do you want Dev? I have work to do."

Dev looked Remi over. "Are you messing with her? You seem to have a thing for brunettes. First Becca, now her."

Remi growled. "Seriously? You've heard what she has been through. You didn't see her when she got here, but I did. Dev, she was hurt. Real bad. I can't imagine that she will let anyone close to her for a while."

"Well she seems to trust you just fine, grumpy bear."

"Shut up, asshole. Why don't you focus on your mate and the twins that she is ready to pop out for you." Then, Remi forced his way through and back to the kitchen.

As Remi returned to the dishes, he had to fight the smile that wanted to tug at his lips. As much as he hated that his brothers heard her, he actually did like that she called him grumpy bear. And, the feel of her lips on his cheek, his skin still tingled. Damn, he felt like he was a boy again, getting his first kiss. He sighed as he remembered the way that she showed so much concern for him. He ground his teeth to focus on the work before anyone else noticed his girly weakness.


	11. Chapter 11

May 31, 2017

Remi had just returned from taking yet another cold shower, when there was a knock on his door. He was almost frustrated to see Korina there. Damn it. He didn't want two cold showers in a row. Yet, he couldn't stop himself from letting out a quick laugh at her while she stood there with a scowl on her face and a book in her hand.

"This is just not right Remi." She reprimanded him as she waved the book.

Remi leaned against the doorframe as he took in the sight of her. She was just so damn cute when she was frustrated.

"And, what is not right about the book?"

Korina stalked up to him and poked him in the chest until he started backing up into his room and she followed. "The Count of Monte Cristo. I have been practicing my reading. It took me two months to sort of understand what is going on. And, and…" She growled. "Really? You read a book about a man betrayed by a friend he loved like a brother, because the one wanted to steal the woman that he loves? Why would you read that?" She had figured out its relation to Remi's life with Quinn and Becca. And, she could not understand why he would add to his pain by reading more stories like his. Quinn didn't try to betray Remi, it was a mistake.

Remi's face split into a wide grin. "You didn't finish did you?"

"No. It is not right." She growled.

"I read it because it is not about the man losing the woman he loves to his friend. It is about the revenge that the man takes out on his friend." Remi stopped himself from adding the part about him getting the girl back in the end. He just did feel right saying that to Korina.

Korina's jaw went slack. "Oh. Well, then, that is just mean."

Remi turned the tables and stalked up to Korina. To her credit, she did not back down. But, he got within half an inch of pressing his body against hers as he dropped his head to growl in her ear. "That is because I am a mean bastard. You don't want to believe it. But, I am."

In involuntary reaction to the combined effects of the vibrations in her ear from his voice, the intensity of the moment, and the general thought of the sweetest man she had met so far, ever thinking that he was just some mean bastard… Korina started to giggle.

Remi's breath caught in his chest and his body tightened at the sound. He had never heard her laugh or giggle before. It was enough of a shock that he almost forgot what it was that started it.

As soon as she realized what she did, her eyes grew to the size of saucers and she quickly covered her mouth with her hands. Korina turned bright red and sprinted for the door.

Remi started to reach for her as she took off. But, he stopped himself. She triggered something playful in him. His mind raced as he thought of chasing her down and tickling her to hear that giggle again. Seeing her eyes light up as she smiled. And then, kissing her until she was breathless. May the gods help him. He needed another cold shower.

Korina was so embarrassed as she fled Remi's room. She had never laughed before. It was so shocking to her that she didn't know what to do. And, then to laugh at Remi, when he was trying to be mean and intimidating. She must have hurt his feelings. But, she couldn't stop it. His deep voice affected her in ways that she was not prepared for. Her body always wanted to touch him, for him to touch her. But, when he spoke in her ear like that. It not only tickled, but it made her knees weak. It made her weak. It was all just so intense that it came out. And, she didn't want to embarrass herself further. He was just a good man that protected her. He loved someone else. She had to remember that.

* * *

June 25, 2017

Aimee had started to show Korina how to keep accounting records. Korina had discovered that she liked numbers. Aimee was too much of a perfectionist to let Korina take over yet. However, Aimee was trying to teach her and start with some small things. Aimee needed to get some work done as the bar was getting busy after the sun set. So, Korina decided to get something to eat before heading back to her room as well. Normally, she would order from the kitchen and take it back to her room. But, today, she wanted to try to get out of the house more. Eventually, she would have to get out and see more of the world and interact with people.

So, she walked over to the bar.

"Hi Trip." Korina greeted quietly. Trip was part of the house band that played on the weekends.

"Hey girl. Are you sure you want to sit out here?" He asked.

She sighed. "I have to try sometime."

He smiled. "Well, then, what can I get for you?"

She tilted her head. "Do you really have to ask?"

"One steak coming up."

"Thank you."

Remi heard Korina's voice through the kitchen door behind the bar. He couldn't stop himself from leaning back to get a peek at her. She really was a beautiful woman. Her coloring reminded him of the snow leopard that he knew that she was. Elegant. Captivating.

He was proud of her for trying to get out of the house more. In the several months that she had been there, she had not stepped one foot outside the front door. He was hoping that she would try soon. Until then, sitting in the bar was a start. Although, her soft and submissive voice was still needing some work. Baby steps he thought, baby steps.

Just as Korina finished her plate, some handsome looking Were-leopard made his way over to her. He was tall and lythe with short auburn hair and amber colored eyes.

"Well hi there pretty kitty." He said with a very seductive smirk on his lips.

Korina stiffened. "I am not interested."

"Oh, come on now. Don't be like that. Why don't we just get to know one another?"

Korina stood up to leave, but the man grabbed her by the arm.

"Where do you think you are going?"

She turned and kicked him straight in the groin. He doubled over in pain, screaming. "You bitch!"

When the man lunged forward for Korina, Remi grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Then he laid into him, fists flying. Remi was in full rage and ready to kill the leopard. It took four of the others to pull him off of the asshole. Yet, still, Remi fought against them.

Korina was in tears. It was all her fault. The scene. Remi's anger. All of it. She should have stayed in her room.

She didn't want Remi to get hurt or get in trouble because of her. She stepped in front of him as he struggled to get free of the others so he could kill the man that attacked her. "Hey there grumpy bear. I am alright. Please Remi, calm down. I am alright."

His face started to fade away from the redness of his rage, his muscles relaxed. But, his breathing was still heavy. She reached passed everyone's arms and shoulders, as they held him back, to cup his face. "Remi, please calm down. It's time to stop."

All of the fight drained from him. He was lost in her eyes, the feel of her skin on his. The others let go of him and he pulled her into his arms.

"Are you sure you are okay?" He asked her. She nodded.

The leopard growled. "What kind of a sick freak show are you people running here. First, we hear about the bear and the wolf. Now you two? It isn't natural." Then he pulled away from Trip's grip enough to storm out of the bar.

Remi couldn't believe that he had made such a public scene with her. But, he needed to know she was really alright. The two of them had been talking more lately. Not just Remi helping her learn. But, really talking. Because he was one of the few people that knew the whole story, she felt more comfortable opening up with him. He knew about her PTSD and how she was scared of losing control if someone hit her or grabbed her wrong. She already had a hard time calming down after she woke up from her nightmares. He didn't want her to have to face that. He desperately wanted to protect her from the kind of blind reaction that he knew so well.

Korina wanted to just stay there, in his arms. But, she knew that he was just being protective of her. And, she was already embarrassed by the scene that she caused. She didn't need to make a fool out of herself as well. So, she pulled back and mumbled an apology to everyone before she quickly headed back to her room.


	12. Chapter 12

After the fight in the bar, Dev made his way to Aimee who had come out in time to see the effect that Korina had on Remi. He lifted a brow at his sister. "See what I mean?" He asked. "And this was all to protect her from some leopard, then she calmed him down in the middle of that anger."

Aimee let out a breath. "There is nothing that we can do Dev. We have to let Remi make this choice."

"But, do you think that he will make the right choice? Even if it is with a cat?"

"I really hope so." Aimee admitted.

Dev leaned back. "It's time Aimee. If I am going to hope that my brother finally let's go of Becca enough to be happy with someone else, then I need to know what secrets you are hiding about her. I don't want to be setting him up to get hurt."

Aimee scowled at Dev. "Do you think that I would be helping if I thought that there would be a problem?"

"Aims." Dev growled.

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. But, swear to me you won't tell anyone."

Dev tilted his head. But, Aimee would not back down as she lead him into the back office for privacy.

He let out a breath. "Okay. I swear. Damn woman. What is so serious about this?"

"She is Arcadian." Aimee said after the door was closed.

Dev's jaw dropped open. "Come again?"

"You heard me."

Dev shook his head. "But, Savitar killed them all."

Aimee rolled her eyes. "All but one. And, we can't let anyone find out. Savitar's rules, at risk of the whole family getting hurt." Aimee took a deep breath. "Her own family sold her into slavery when she was a child. That is why she has had such a hard time adjusting. She was not old enough to remember anything other than being owned by the demon and his rejects, isolated from the mortal world. And, when Savitar killed the leopards, she was already trapped there. She had nothing to do with the reasons for Savitar's choices, and he feels guilty that he didn't know she was trapped. But, there are unknown consequences of anyone finding out she is Arcadian. So, he is protecting her now."

Dev ran his hands through his hair. "Damn."

"Now, does that change anything about you supporting Remi's love life with a leopard?"

* * *

As Remi made his way back to his room after his shift, he ran into Becca. Her thick brown curls framed her beautiful face and hazel eyes. Eyes that held tears. He hated to see her cry. He hadn't seen that is so long. Mostly, she avoided him to limit the awkward interactions. So, he didn't know if she still cried over anything. But, it pulled at his heart.

"What is going on with you and Korina?" She asked.

Remi's breath froze in his chest. She must have heard about the fight earlier. Is that what hurt her? That he was protecting Korina? Unsure of where Becca was headed with this, his eyes narrowed as he spoke. "We are friends. She needs protection."

Becca shook her head. "Remi, I know that you have a good heart. But, I don't trust her. She is trouble."

Remi stiffened. "What is this about Becca?"

Becca blushed as she tried to speak. But when she couldn't find the words, she turned to walk away.

* * *

Remi laid in bed, his mind racing around between competing thoughts. Everything about Korina touched him. Her skin, her eyes, the scent of her, the sound of her voice. He was protective of her, in a way that he had not been toward a woman other than Becca. He was growing more and more possessive of her. And, the way his body reacted when he was around her. Hell, he hadn't had a _hot_ shower in too long to remember. He figured that if he was taking a cold shower to deal with one problem, he might as well get clean too.

But, then there was Becca. The woman that he had loved for years. The woman who broke through his icy demeanor and stole his heart when no one else had. Despite all of the pain and the anger, he still loved her. It was truly cruel of the Fates to force this into his life. However, she belonged to Quinn.

And, Korina was the first person to really try to reach him in such a long time. To not be angry at him. Not look at him like he is crazy. Not be scared of him. Just showed concern. Concern over his pain. Concern over his future with that pain and what it could do to him. Everyone else simply tried to avoid him unless he was blowing up. They treated him like unstable dynamite. Alright, he was unstable dynamite. But, when he was near her, he didn't feel that way. His tension eased. His anger receded. She faced him in his rage and pulled him out. How can a woman affect him so much?

Then Remi remembered how Becca seemed so hurt earlier when she asked him about Korina. But, that irritated Remi. Becca was Quinn's mate. She and Remi had not been together in years. She had no claims on him to prevent him from seeing someone else and moving on. And, to hear Becca say that Korina was trouble and that she did not trust her. Remi had not really had to face jealousy from Becca before. No one else had gotten close to Remi before. There was definitely something different about Korina. He couldn't deny that.

Remi dug the heels of his palms into his eyes as he tried to get his mind to stop. He is just too screwed up to be good for anyone. No woman deserves to be brought into his messed up life. No matter how much he reacted to Korina, the truth is that he still reacted to Becca too. And, that would not be fair to her. He had to make some serious decisions before he completely went insane.


	13. Chapter 13

July 2, 2017

Remi had been avoiding both women. He just didn't know what to do. He knew that if either of them were truly free, he could find himself happy. But, they were both off limits. Why was he such a moron? Hitting his head against the same brick wall, over and over and over again.

Still, as time went on, Becca's jealousy showed more. He saw her several times during the week. She didn't say anything. But, she had sought him out and the look on her face said it all. However, the swell of her stomach, as her most recent pregnancy grew more obvious, that said a lot too. For the first time ever, Remi found himself truly angry at Becca. Not just angry about a horrific mistake in bedding his brother. Not just angry at the Fates for the cruelty of their choice. Not angry at circumstances. But, angry at her. At her choices. It was all emotional and confusing for him to begin with. Her jealousy just did not feel right.

There was a time when he would have reveled in her jealousy. To know that she still cared enough to be jealous. But, this just felt like more weight. More to pull him down. And he felt guilty that his brother's mate was taking such interest in him once again. She was pregnant with his children, she should be focused on her family.

As his mind worked his emotions into hyper drive, he could smell a group of leopards enter the bar. Something about them gave him pause. So, he stopped washing dishes and wiped off his hands to watch the group walking down from the third floor. It was obvious in their behavior that they were sniffing around for something. Then, he noticed the leopard in the back, it was the same one that had grabbed Korina. Remi ground his teeth as he watched them closely.

The group walked up to the bar where Fang and Colt were handling the drinks. Remi stood behind them. Other family members around the bar seemed equally alert and ready. It was a Friday night, and the bar was full. So, this could get messy, fast.

"What's your business?" Fang asked.

The man that appeared to be in charge looked Fang over from head to toe and sneered. "You're the wolf mated to the bear?" The leopard stood around 6'4" with well defined muscles, brown hair and amber eyes.

"My mate and I are no business of yours. So, speak up about what you are here for or leave. House rules, 'Come in peace or leave in pieces'."

"Where is the leopard?" The man snarled.

Fang tilted his head. "What leopard? I see four of them in front of me. Which one are you having a difficult time finding up your ass?"

The leader growled. "The female you have here."

"Again. Don't know what you are talking about. You know the rules."

Yet, as Fang said it, Aimee and Korina walked out of the back hall that lead to the office. Both women stopped when they saw the group and the tension of everyone else.

When the leopards moved toward them, Remi, Dev, Etienne and Serre were all there to block their path toward the women.

The tall one with auburn hair from a week prior smiled lecherously at Korina. "Hello again miss kitty."

Remi couldn't see her reaction as he focused just on the other leopards. However, he could feel her grab the back of his shirt.

The leader finally spoke again. "She belongs to us."

"What for?" Fang asked calmly.

"That is our business."

Fang laughed. "No, this is our business. And, you know the rules of a limani. She is protected. But, if you have a legitimate claim that supersedes those rules, then we can discuss it. Otherwise, you can leave, without her."

The leopard turned on Fang. "She killed a member of my family. Her life is forfeit."

"Do you have the evidence to prove it was her? We are more than happy to escort her to the Omegrion to face trial."

When the leopard didn't answer. Fang shrugged. "Aw hell. I haven't seen enough of Savitar lately, let's all take a little trip and sort this out with him. Shall we?"

Then the leopard took a step back from Fang's reach.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. I know the girl. I know how long she has been here. And, I know her past. None of it involves you. So, stop fucking around. The look in your eyes is one of lust, not revenge. You won't touch her." Fang paused and looked at Remi. "Get her out of here."

Remi was more than happy to comply with that order. He grabbed Korina, pulled her into the hall were the humans could not see them, and flashed her into the house. She was trembling as tears started to well in her eyes. Remi pulled her tightly against him and wrapped his arms around her.

"Shh. I told you. I will protect you." He breathed into her hair as he tried to sooth her.

"Why? What did they want?" Korina had learned about the rules of the limani and the Omegrion throughout the months since she arrived. So, for this group to lie to Fang and make up some reason to try to get her out the door with them, they had to want her really bad. But, she could not understand why.

"I don't know. But, I am here."

Korina nuzzled deeper into his chest and neck. That moment, she needed him. His touch. His skin. His comfort. And, he was offering it. She couldn't pull away. She knew that she should. But, he held her close. So, she let him.

As Remi stood there, soothing Korina's fears, Becca walked into the house after doing some shopping for baby supplies. But, when she saw Remi and Korina in an embrace, she saw red.

Becca dropped all of the bags that she was carrying. "What in the hell Korina? When I suggested that you get out and try finding a man, I did not mean Remi! I mean, crap, he is a bear! You are a leopard! Couldn't you at least stick with a cat?" Her voice was loud enough that others in the house heard and started to peek out to see the fireworks.

Whatever had happened with the leopards in the bar, it was over enough that Remi could see Etienne open the door to the bar and raise his brows. He closed the door but left it cracked. Remi hated his life being made public, but Becca was forcing the issue.

Korina's mouth dropped open. "I, I- I wasn't trying to…"

Remi growled. "Enough of this Becca. It wasn't what it looked like."

Becca took a step back. "You are yelling at me? Over her?" Remi had never yelled at Becca before. Not even close. He immediately wanted to apologize. But, he just couldn't take it any more. He was tired of the pain. Angry at her jealousy.

"I will go." Korina whispered. She started to pull away. But, he would not let go of her.

"That is right. Go. Why don't you just leave this house all together? You don't help around here anyway." Becca snarled.

Where in the hell was all of this coming from? He knew that Becca was emotional when she was pregnant, but this was over the top. Remi was fuming mad. How dare she talk to Korina like that. She had been so nice to Korina and supportive until a week ago. So, he knew that it was all words just meant to hurt Korina and drive her away from him. And, that just made him more angry. He didn't want Korina hurt. Not over a problem that she had nothing to do with.

But, it was Korina who turned to Becca. Her voice was louder, more confident. Becca had pushed her too far. "Maybe I will leave the house. Maybe I won't." When Remi saw her confidence, he finally let her step away. "But, I have nothing to do with whatever it is that you are dealing with. I didn't force you to go into the wrong room and have sex with Quinn. I didn't put a mating mark on your hands. I didn't put a gun to your head and tell you to finish the mating ritual. I don't tie you down to a bed so that you can get pregnant over and over again. And, I sure as hell didn't have anything to do with your choice to do all of this down the hall from the man that loves you so much that it is killing him. Those were your choices. Mistakes or not, you have to live with those consequences."

She took a breath. "But, hell. After all of those choices, you refuse to make the one that matters most. Choose to either cheat on your mate with his brother, or choose to let him go completely. But, this... " Korina wagged a finger between Remi and Becca. "This is going to kill him. It already is eating at his soul, at his relationships with his family, at everything that gives him a reason to live. And, you do what? Sit back and sleep with your mate, his brother, and then throw a temper tantrum any time Remi doesn't devote all of his attention to you? That is seriously fucked up. If you still love him at all, then help him find peace. In whatever form that takes. Whether that is with you, with someone else, or alone; it shouldn't matter as long as he is happy. Stop stringing the man along. It is not fair to Remi and it sure as hell is not fair to Quinn. So, choose damn it."

Becca walked up and slapped Korina.

Remi launched himself to stop Korina from going after Becca. He knew that being hit would trigger her rage. Korina tried to fight him off. Her eyes were wild.

He wedged his hip against hers as he pinned her to the wall. He managed to get both of her hands into his grip above her head. Then he cupped her face. "Korina. Calm down." He said quietly, soothingly.

Becca tilted her head. "See, she is too unstable to stay here. Around our children none the less."

"Shut the hell up Becca!" Remi growled over his shoulder. He could hear her gulp at his angry words. But, he no longer cared at that moment. He looked Korina in the eyes and ran his thumb over her cheek. "It's alright kitten. You are not with Kravix. You are here, with me. At Sanctuary."

Korina's breathing was heavy, but slowing down. He continued. "Kravix is dead. Remember? He can't hurt you again. You are safe."

Recognition started to seep into her eyes. "Remi?"

He smiled. "There you are."

He watched her as he felt her muscles relax and guilt start to cross her face. "I, I- I am so…"

He cut her off. "Shh. You are alright. Can I let go now?" She nodded.

Becca growled. Remi turned to glare at the woman he had loved for so long. "Don't you touch Korina again."

"She is psychotic! You just had to protect me from her and you are angry at me for it?"

"No. I wasn't protecting you Becca. I was protecting her. Protecting her from doing something she would regret later."

Becca's jaw dropped and tears swelled in her eyes. In that moment, Remi had chosen Korina over Becca. It was instinctive. It was sudden. His actions protected both of them, and the cubs that Becca carried. But, his intentions chose only one to focus on. And, he chose Korina. Remi and Becca both knew that.

Remi's voice softened. "I am sorry Becca. But, Korina is right. We can't keep living like this. I have loved you for a long time. You know that. Everyone knows that. But, it wasn't until this week that I saw just how jealous you could be. That jealousy only adds to the guilt and the pain. I can't keep living with that. And, you have no right to ask that of me. You are mated to my brother and he deserves more loyalty than this. I need to move on. The one thing that Korina was wrong about is that it was never about waiting for you do decide. It was about waiting for me to decide that I can't live with the pain anymore and do something about it. So, I have."

He turned his back on Becca, tears pricked the back of his eyes, but he would not let them show. He scooped Korina up into his arms and carried her up the stairs to her room. Past all of the people and animals who had crowded around in stunned silence as they watched the whole thing unfold.

By the time Remi entered Korina's room, they were both in tears. He laid her on her bed. Korina grabbed his hand so that he would sit next to her.

"I am so, so, so sorry Remi. I didn't mean to cause anything or push it this far. I will leave. I don't want to be a problem."

He shook his head. "It had to happen. You were just the first person who cared enough about me to take a stand and tell her off for the right reasons. You cared more about me than even I did."

Remi started to stand up to leave. He felt so lost. But, Korina's voice broke through his haze. "Do you really want to be alone right now?" He shook his head. "Me either. Will you stay?" She moved over in the bed and made room for him. Remi climbed into the bed next to her and she curled up around him with her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and let the warmth of her skin sooth him until they were both asleep from the emotional exhaustion.


	14. Chapter 14

Remi woke in the morning to the warm feeling of someone next to him. He looked down quickly to see Korina still curled up against his side. A small smile tugged at his lips. But, then he remembered how it was they ended up there in bed together. His chest drew tight. He had ended things with Becca.

It had been over for years. But, now, it was really over. He had hit his breaking point. He either had to accept that he was broken and let a part of him die, or fight for something new.

Yet there, asleep in his arms was the woman that showed so much strength and compassion that she helped him reach that point and brought him comfort afterwards. Could she see him through the unknown consequences? Would she remain by his side? Or was it all just in friendship and she would pull back?

As he replayed the events in his head, she never tried to fight to take Remi. Korina only fought to get Becca to make up her mind, to end the tension. Maybe she did only see him as a friend to protect. But, she had asked him to stay. This woman that didn't like anyone to touch her was asleep in his arms. Would she open up to him as more than a friend? Remi drew a ragged breath, lost in the sea of his emotions.

Korina woke to the unsteady movements of Remi's chest. His arms were still around her, but she could feel his tension. It broke her heart. She never meant to push things so far. It was his life, his love. He should have been free to make his choices on his time. Not having an outsider force the situation. Tears swelled in her eyes as she tried not to look at him.

Remi had not realized that Korina was awake until he felt a warm patch of wetness spreading on his shirt under where her eyes were. He reached over and nudged her chin up to look at him. "Why are you crying?"

"I never meant to hurt you. It wasn't my place to push so much. Now you are hurt because of what I said. If you two love each other that much…" She growled. "I just wanted you to be happy. You love her. Who am I to..." She pulled her face away and rolled so she wouldn't look at him.

Remi curled up behind her and closed his eyes. He knew that he had to be honest and just see where things landed. "Who are you? You are the woman that defended me in a way that others might have thought about, but never had the courage to say. You are the woman that has given me a peaceful night sleep for the first time in more years than I would like to admit to. You have trusted me. You have faced me at my worst. You have calmed me. You have shown me the difference between a woman who says she loves me while she leaves me in pain, and a woman who shows me that she cares enough to see me happy no matter who it is with. You have touched me in ways that I can't begin to explain.". He took a deep breath. "You are the woman who I have been falling in love with for the last seven months."

Korina rolled enough to look up at Remi with those soft golden eyes. "But, you love Becca. You can't love me. I am so damaged and broken. I have nothing to offer you. You deserve better than me."

Remi's lips tugged, as he tried to hide his smile. She wasn't rejecting him, just nervous. And, he knew it. It was strange for him to realize because he didn't think that he was worthy of her. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I am not asking for anything more than a smile."

She let out a breath. "Remi. I am serious. I am an extinct species with no money, no job, no education, and a past that makes me worry about certain parts of a relationship."

He gently rolled her to face him again. "I am serious too, Korina. Here." He took her hand to placed it on his swollen manhood. She jerked her hand back and her eyes narrowed. But, he smiled and brushed her dark brown hair out of her face. "You have always had that effect on me. But, I have never tried to touch you. Even with us spending all night together, in this bed. I have not pushed for so much as a kiss from you. I know your past. And, I am alright with waiting, for however long it takes for you to decide. I will never push for more than you are willing to give."

He took a breath and watched her. "Please, let me take care of you. Let me protect you. Just so that I can see that you are safe and happy."

Korina shook her head. "How can you offer so much to a woman that isn't going to be your mate? I mean, you are an Arcadian bear. I am an Arcadian leopard. The Fates won't choose me. We won't have children. I can't take away your time or love from a mate that you are supposed to be with that can give you children. You have so much love to give. It should be with the right woman. One that makes you happy."

Remi ran his hands through her hair. He should be hurt and angry that she was fighting it. But, the tone in her voice sounded like she had been having this argument already with herself. It proved to him that she did want the relationship deep down. So, he just let her get it all out there.

Once she stopped, he smiled. "After what happened with Becca and Quinn, I don't really give a shit about what the Fates want. I am choosing for myself and right now, I choose you. You make me happy Korina. I might try to hide it, but I have smiled more since I met you than I have in a very, very long time. I look forward to seeing you. To your reading lessons. To hearing your voice. To helping you with your problems."

She blushed and looked away. "I look forward to that too. But, what if I am not your mate?"

Remi's smile widened. "We don't need to be mated. As long as neither of us has sex with anyone else, then there is no chance of us finding other mates, right?" She nodded slowly. "I trust you to be faithful with me. And, I will be loyal to you. I could get a tattoo to help make sure there is no confusion with my brothers. Other than that, we just take things slow and see where things go. Maybe even a human style wedding if you want at some point. We do what we choose. Don't worry about the Fates or social expectations."

"You would really do all of that for me?" Korina was in tears. It was more than she had ever hoped for. The man that she had trusted, respected, started to hope for. He was there, offering himself… to her.

"For a woman who taught me how to hope, to smile, and fought to protect me from myself. I would do just about anything."


	15. Chapter 15

Remi and Korina finally got cleaned up and left her room enough to head down the stairs to get some food from the kitchen. Remi reached for her hand as they walked down the hall. Korina blushed and squeezed his hand back.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Publically, I mean?" She whispered.

Remi smirked. "I think people already assume after the public show last night. And, I don't want there to be any question about how I feel about you. From anyone. That was my mistake before, keeping things private. So, Quinn didn't know what the consequences were. I won't make the same mistakes again."

She blushed even more. "You know that Becca hates me. And, I think that your family will too. I caused too much trouble yesterday."

"Like hell we will." Dev said from the second floor landing ahead of them. "It's about time you two came out for air." Dev reached out and gave Remi a solid clap on the shoulder. "We've been waiting for you."

Remi looked uncomfortable and confused. "What in the hell does that mean?"

Dev walked with them downstairs where the rest of the family was all waiting. All of the Peltier siblings, everyone but Quinn. Colt was even there. He was raised by the family and treated as a brother. And, Jenna walked in with her son, Alcander, in her arms.

"Who is running the bar?" Remi asked. Korina stepped behind Remi very shyly.

Dev grinned. "It is taken care of."

Alain stepped forward. "Alright, we all know that I am not the man that Papa was. But, I am the oldest, so, it is my honor to officially welcome Korina into our family."

Korina gripped onto Remi while he tried to move out from in front of her as he realized what was going on. Her face was bright red. "But, we aren't mated." She managed to squeeze out.

Alain smiled. "If half of what I hear about you is true, then I know my brother won't be letting you go. Mating mark or not. I am really sorry that I missed the entertainment last night."

"See!" Kyle yelled. "Just look at his stupid grin. I don't think that I have ever seen a real smile from Remi. You broke him."

Korina looked up to see Remi try really hard to hide his smile as he growled at his brother.

Aimee stood up and walked over to hug Korina, who tried not to pull away. "The point is that you have managed to do the impossible. You gave our brother a reason to put his foot down and choose something better for himself. We have all seen how much calmer he is after he talks to you. You even got him to stop fighting in the middle of his anger, twice. Korina, you are really, really, I cannot emphasize this enough... really good for Remi. We all wanted you both to know that you have our love and support in whatever it is that you two both choose for yourselves."

"Even though we are different species?" Korina asked.

"Ah cher, you can thank Fang for getting us a little more used to the idea." Dev laughed. "And, because you are now a part of our family, Fang and Aimee finally told us the truth about you Korina. That information won't leave those of us here, with very few exceptions. But, we are all prepared to fight to protect you. We don't really know what dangers await for you. But, I doubt we have seen the last of those leopards from last night. And, others may come around as well. If you need anything and you can't find Remi, you come to any of us. You understand?"

Korina nodded. She didn't know what to say. They were all willing to protect her and accept her as their family?

Remi was stunned by it all. Since when did his family give a shit about his happiness? But, it felt really good to see Korina be accepted. Remi let go of Korina's hand as Aimee led her around to be welcomed individually.

Jenna walked up and passed the baby to Dev so that she could give Remi a tight hug. "Now, Remi Peltier, if you would have answered my calls or stopped avoiding me, I would have told you that Savitar told me about Korina months ago. He knew that I would learn about it eventually and he wanted to make sure that I understood the seriousness of things." She paused to glare at him. "And you have been there to help protect me and my sister-in-law when we needed it. So, Deimos and I are offering the same for you and Korina."

Remi smiled and kissed her forehead. It felt really good to have a friend. Especially one who was so understanding and supportive after he avoided her for so long.

Alain leaned in. "So, what _are_ your plans?"

Remi glanced at him. "We are taking things slow. And, I don't give a fuck about what the Fates say about it."

Alain gave a wide smile. "Glad to hear it. And, ah, Cherif is very much aware of this relationship. So, no more mistakes. At least your other quads are mated already and not able to screw things up again. They should be kept busy with their own kids to not get into your hair too much."

Dev scoffed. "The twins are just fine with Samia for a few hours. That gives me plenty of time to harass the hell out of Remi." Alain rolled his eyes at his brother.

"And where is Quinn?" Remi growled.

"Quinn wanted to be here for you. But, he took Becca out of town for a few days to calm down and get her priorities resituated. Korina was right. Even if you had to make the choice about your relationship with Becca, Becca still needs to make a choice about her mate. We will still welcome her. But, she won't be allowed to mess with you and Korina."

Remi let out a slow breath. "Thank you."

Alain shook his head. "It wasn't my idea. That part was all Quinn. You know that he hates himself for what happened and expected you and Becca to..."

Remi dropped his head. "I know. But, it is better this way."

"That it is. I think you are much happier this way. You already look like a burden has been lifted. I am happy for you brother." Alain placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before he left.

The family started to break up and head to bed or out to work in the bar. Korina returned back to Remi who wrapped his arms around her. "Korina, this is Jenna Theron. She is a good friend of mine and also Samia's great granddaughter."

Jenna smiled. "Don't worry honey. I am the only friend that you have not met. Well, honestly, I am his one and only best friend that he never asked for. This boy is too stubborn for his own good. So, I just didn't give him a choice in the matter."

"Jenna." He growled in warning.

She scoffed. "I am not saying anything that Korina has not already figured out. She doesn't give you much choice either."

Korina started to panic that she was being too pushy with Remi. Then she took a breath and smiled as she realized that Remi cared for her even if she was pushy. And, to see their friendship as Jenna did the same thing, that helped Korina relax and understand that he really did not mind that she talked to him that way. She was always nervous that she pushed too much. But, she just couldn't back down around him. His grumpy defenses just got in the way of her interacting with the man that she knew was underneath it all. And, she really liked being able to push past all of those walls. It made her feel special and connected to him, like he was with her.

"It was very nice to officially meet you Korina. I hope we can meet up soon and actually get to know one another. If, you ever need anything, feel free to call." Jenna offered.

Remi stopped Jenna before she left. "Jenna, before you go. I have to ask. Did you know this was going to happen? I mean, you certainly didn't try to hunt me down when I backed off."

She gave a wide smile as she collected her son from Dev. "I knew it was a possibility. And, I hoped that it would happen sooner rather than later. But, I also knew that you would not take these steps with Becca until you had someone you loved to take these steps with." She reached up to cup Remi's face. "You have always fought against doing what others tell you to do, even if it is good for you. That is why your family stopped trying. It wasn't that they didn't care. It was that they learned that the more they tried, the harder you fought against it. It is also why I gave you space for a while. You needed to make these choices for yourself. To have someone that gave you a reason to want something other than misery. No one could have helped you, but Korina."

Remi's eyes misted over. "Do you know anything about what will happen now?" Remi knew that Jenna could absorb people's memories, not see the future. Yet, she was also friends with Acheron and others that seemed to have those kinds of gifts. If she touched them… maybe.

Jenna shook her head. "It is not my gift to keep looking at. I only saw this one moment in someone else's memories. But, you have a huge family to support and protect you both. If this place gets too crazy, you can always come stay in one of my spare rooms. You are not as alone as you think you are."

"Thank you."


	16. Chapter 16

"I want that leopardess now!" Declan roared. As head of the family line and recently made new regis for the Kategaria Pardalia, he had the honor of being the first to claim her once they had their hands on her. He knew that his son wanted her too. But, Declan was looking forward to having his fun with her first. His mate recently died, freeing him up to pursue other females once again. And, this kitty was sexy, unmated, and submissive in a way that he had never seen from a leopardess before. She made his blood boil.

But, those damn bears had her brainwashed. He saw the way that she dropped her eyes when she saw him, but then looked for the bear to protect her. It wasn't natural. He wouldn't let the Peltiers mess around with a leopard female in such a way. She belonged to Declan. Then, eventually to Jasper.

"What are we going to do papa?" Jasper asked. "We can't just start a war with Sanctuary. Those stupid wolves tried and paid for it dearly. And, that was when Sanctuary wasn't protected as a limani. Savitar gave them back their status."

"I am well aware of that." Declan had to think. He was tempted to accuse the bears of brainwashing the girl and offering to protect her. However, Savitar knew far more than anyone realized. He may see through the attempt to just get her under his control. And, he had a particular grudge against Declan and his family. Declan did not know why. It started with his grandfather. That was all he knew. But, he wasn't willing to risk such a move in front of the entire Omegrion, the ruling counsel for the Were-animals that was overseen by Savitar himself.

But, the rules of a limani were clearly written. Everyone is safe inside the walls. No one can be given up to their enemies. No one can be taken by force. There were few exceptions to that. Unfortunately, this female racked Jasper when he tried to get to know her. And, she did not willingly come to Declan when she had the chance. Alright, she wasn't completely submissive. But, he liked her fight. He loved that she was almost broken. He would savor being the one to completely break her down. Then, hopefully she would be mated to Jasper and Declan can keep her close, to play with whenever he wanted.

Jasper was a good soldier, but he had more interest in men than women. This was the first female that really caught his attention. Declan wanted that for him. But, he knew that Jasper would lose interest eventually. Yet, once mated, he will have to stop chasing male tale. It all would kill two birds with one stone. Gets Jasper under control, keeps the female tied to the family so that Declan can have a new toy. A total win, win in his book.

Now if he could just get his hands on that female and pray the Fates cooperate with Jasper being mated.

* * *

Remi was given a few days off of work to sort through things with Korina. They spent most of the time in either of their rooms, just talking and watching television.

Korina was amazed at how comfortable she was with Remi. She had always been comfortable with him touching her. He would hug her or soothe her when she needed it. But, once he chose her, he became more interested in touching her. A lot. It wasn't sexual. Though, her body was burning up from the feel of him. It was deeper. Like he was scared that she would disappear if he did not maintain contact. Yet, nothing he did made her scared or shy. She liked his touches, his hugs, the way he held her close to him while they talked.

Remi was in heaven. He had a beautiful woman in his arms that looked at him with so much trust and appreciation. He had never thought that he would find someone like Korina who could drag his surly ass out of the abyss that he had been drowning in. And, he sure as hell didn't think that he deserved her. But, there she was. He felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders and he could breath for the first time in years.

The first night, Remi had to pull himself away from Korina to let her sleep. He didn't want to push things to move too fast. She needed her space. It was just so hard, he felt like he would fall asleep and wake up to find it was all a dream.

His worry prevented him from finding sleep himself. A couple of hours later, Korina was at his door. She dropped her head down and blushed as she asked if she could sleep next to him again. Remi wanted to shout for joy. It was stupid and childish. But, the fact that she sought him out filled him with pride and love. He opened the door and lead her to his bed. Remi curled up behind Korina and held her close as they both fell asleep.

By the morning, Korina had rolled over and nuzzled into Remi's neck. She had never slept so long or so deeply as when she was next to him. She felt safe. Safe from her nightmares. Safe to wake up. Comforted that everything would be alright.

The second night, Remi took her out to the roof of the bar so that she could watch the Independence Day fireworks. They cuddled in a large chair that he had put up there. Her eyes lit up in wonder at the stars and the city lights. Then, when the fireworks started, she jumped from the loud sounds and nuzzled into him. He chuckled at her reactions. Remi had finally started to explore her body for ticklish spots. As the night went on, he had her in a giggling mess while they watched the night sky. It was just too much fun to touch those sensitive areas when she was not expecting it. He loved the sound of her laughter. They had stayed out so late, that she fell asleep in his arms. So, he flashed them both back to his bed.

It did not take them long to decide to just move Korina into his room. They just didn't tell anyone else about it. Remi wanted her to still have her room, space that was hers for a while longer. Yet, given their mutual comfort with sleeping together every night, really, they only needed one bed.

* * *

A few days later, they watched "Les Miserables" on PBS. Remi explained how the history was different from the movie. Korina stretched out across the bed so that she lay on her stomach with her head at the foot of the bed to watch the television. Remi sat on the floor below her so that their faces were close. Her left arm draped around his neck. Her right hand ran fingers through his blond curls.

"I have never watched this much television." Remi confessed.

Korina nuzzled into his neck. "Are you complaining?"

Remi smiled. "Not when you do that."

She pulled away. "Remi can I ask you to teach me something?" Her voice was hesitant and her cheeks flushed with red.

Remi turned to look at her. "You know you don't have to be embarrassed to ask me anything."

Her blushes deepened and she turned away. "Nevermind."

There was something so utterly flirtatious about her mood. Remi could guess at what she was asking. But, he had promised to never push her for more than she was willing to give. And, he would not risk being wrong. So, he pulled her back around to face him.

As Korina turned around to look at him, she was lost in Remi's blue eyes. She could see the edges of a smile reflected in them. "I…" She swallowed. "I wanted to know what it felt like to be kissed." Then she shook her head quickly. "But, that is not fair to you. You hold back so much for me. It is not right to give a little and not the rest. But, I am not ready."

Remi chuckled as he placed a finger to her lips. "Shhh. Don't worry so much kitten. But, are you sure you want to take that step?"

She nodded. A wide smile spread across his face as he crawled back up on to the bed, next to her. Remi lowered his lips to her forehead and placed a soft kiss on her skin. Then he placed another on the end of her nose. Then on her cheeks. Korina's heart was racing. Her skin tingled and chills ran down her back. When his lips finally touched hers, he was so soft. Korina's toes curled as shivers erupted over her skin. Then he kissed her again, and again. Each time was deeper as she instinctively started to kiss him in return. She purred while her head was spinning in the waves of pleasure and lust that flooded her body. Before she knew what she was doing, she pushed Remi on to his back so that she could be the one to kiss him.

There seemed to be no end to the intimacy of the moment. Until there was a knock at the door. Korina jumped and blushed furiously while Remi groaned at the interruption.

"Better be important." He growled.

"It's Quinn and Becca." He heard his brother's voice.

Korina wanted to hide. She didn't want to cause problems again. But, Remi wouldn't let her. He held her hand as he answered the door. Becca was standing the closest to the door with Quinn behind her. Her eyes were down and Remi could see the tears that ran down her cheeks.

"I… I am sorry Korina. And, you too Remi. I didn't have a right to be jealous or to attack you. Quinn told me about what you have been through Korina. And, the leopards that were after you. I didn't know. I never would have hit you if I knew you suffered so much. I am really ashamed of my actions. And, Remi was right to protect you. You seem to make him happy. I do want you to be happy Remi. It just hurt to see that I hurt you so much and couldn't fix it or make you happy. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Thank you Becca." Remi said. He never thought that he would face this situation. Yet, he was surprised at just how much it didn't hurt him anymore. Korina had changed him.

Korina just looked at the floor and stayed quiet. She didn't know what to do. She didn't fully understand social expectations yet. So, she was surprised when Becca reached for her face. Korina started to pull away, but Remi was behind her.

"I am sorry. The no touching thing. I forgot." She sniffed. "I just wanted you to know that I didn't mean what I said to you the other night. I was angry. I really do want you to be happy too. After what you have been through, I can see why you like Remi. For being such a grizzly bear, he is very gentle and patient when he wants to be, but still strong and protective. He is good for you. And, you seem to be really good for him too. I wish you both happiness."

Then Becca turned and quickly headed down the hall to her room. Quinn stayed behind. "It is nice to finally be able to welcome you to our family Korina."

"Thank you." She whispered. Remi rubbed her shoulders to help her relax.

Quinn took a breath. "Congratulations brother."

Remi reached out a hand to Quinn. "Good luck." Quinn gave a half laugh as he returned the handshake.


	17. Chapter 17

September 9, 2017

Remi woke up to Korina nuzzling into his neck.

"Good morning kitten." His voice was deep and gravely as he woke. He hugged her close. But, his eyes flew open as he felt her hand drop to cup him in his pajama pants. Oh gods.

He moaned at the feeling of her against his erection.

Korina heard Remi moan and it snapped her attention. She jumped up. Her eyes were wide as a look of panic crossed her face. "I am sorry." She quickly tried to use her magic to flash herself to her old room, but he held her there in his bed.

"What is wrong Korina?" Then he smelled it. She was in heat.

She tried to pull away. "Please, I need to lock myself into a room alone." Tears were welling in her eyes.

Remi shook his head. "I won't let anything happen between us that you are not prepared for. Nothing will happen until after you finish your cycle and you can choose so with a clear head."

"You don't understand." Korina was trembling.

He cupped her face. "Then tell me."

Shame creeped across her eyes. "I know. I know my body. It betrays my choice." She broke down into sobs.

Remi rocked her in his arms. "Kravix used it to his advantage." She nodded.

If it wasn't for the fact that Korina had already killed the asshole and Savitar wiped the rest of his cohorts from the earth, Remi would have ripped them all apart for what they did to her. Now, all he could do was take a breath and try to soothe her pain.

"I won't take advantage like they did." Remi repeated.

"But, I couldn't stop myself with the demons. How can I leave my room? With so many unmated males in this house? You deserve better. I can't stop. I am weak."

"That is what you are so scared of? That you will have sex with someone else?" She continued to sob. He trusted her to not willingly have sex with another. But, he didn't know her cycle affected her so much. Part of him was happy to see her fears. It showed just how much she didn't want to be with anyone else. But, the other part of him was terrified that he would face a repeat of what happened with Becca. He could barely breath.

"Please Remi. Don't make me leave our room. Lock the door. I am scared."

Remi agreed to let her lock herself in. He locked the door and flashed himself out to go talk to Aimee about getting Korina off of the work schedule for a few days. Korina had been helping with the accounting lately. However, as he started down the hall, he saw Angel sniffing the air and headed toward him.

"Is that Korina that is in heat?" Angel asked.

Remi growled at the leopard. Angel raised his hands in surrender. "I am not trying to steal your woman Remi. But, be prepared. When it comes to the feline Were's, the females have almost zero control when they are in heat and not mated. Their bodies drive them to mate with the first virile male they can get their hands on. If I were you, I would lock her in your room to prevent any other mix ups. For us males, it is nearly as strong of a need when we catch their scent, but more controllable. Even more so when we know she is yours." Angel was breathing heavy, but keeping himself under control.

Remi took a breath. "She already asked me to lock her in our room. Is it really that strong for felines?"

Angel nodded his head. "You have no idea. Once the female is mated, it is controllable around other males. But, until that happens… Well, it is going to be a long, enjoyable, few days for you. Unless she turns leopard when she climaxes, then it might be rather painful. But, hell, that is your business."

Remi talked to Aimee and then went to the kitchen to get Korina some food. Then, he flashed himself back into his room. Korina practically attacked him. He damn near dropped her plate.

"Korina, honey. You know that I am not going to let you get too carried away." He said as she pulled her hands away from his body.

"Please. Please fuck me." She begged. Damn, he really wanted to. But, he didn't want that to be their first time. Or, for her to feel like he took advantage of her hormones. Plus, Remi made a mental note to work on vocabulary with her later. Fucking her is what the demons did. It is what they called it. Remi didn't want her to ever feel like that again. When she was ready, he was going to make love to her and show her the difference. But, for now. He had one intensely horny leopardess on his hands.

"Korina, do you trust me?" She nodded. "Then let me do something to help you." He carried her to the bed and used his magic to hold her down gently. He slowly lifted up her nightgown until he could see the dark patch of hair where her legs met. She was moaning and begging for him. But, Remi refused to listen. Instead of filling her, the way she was begging him for, he lowered his mouth to her most sensitive area.

She gasped as she felt his tongue slide between the folds of her skin. Her body was pulsing with need and the attention that he was giving to her was pure bliss.

Remi growled as he laved at her body. The sight of her under him, the taste of her body, it took all of his will power to stay focused on not going passed this boundary. His body would remain covered and untouched. Only his eyes, mouth and fingers would be permitted to explore. No matter how much he wanted more.

Teasing. Sucking. Using his fingers to bring her to climax after climax. Korina's body exploded in ribbons of pleasure. She had never experienced anything like it before.

Remi didn't stop until she passed out in exhaustion, fully sated from her needs. He smiled as she slept. He knew it would not last long before she was hungry for more. But, at least this would help her calm down for a while. He cleaned himself up and went down to work with her food still sitting on the dresser for when she woke.

He returned to check on her during his lunch break. She was still wound up, though not as desperate as before. Korina was very embarrassed by her behavior, however Remi set her at ease. By the time Remi was off of his shift, every male cat in the house had come to him to warn him about a leopardess in heat. It got to the point that by the time Trip walked in, he didn't get a word out, Remi just said that he already knew and warned the lion not to make the mistake of touching Korina.

And, that became their routine for a couple days. Remi helped Korina's needs before he went to work, checked on her at lunch and then the rest of the night was spent together. And, he loved every minute of it.


	18. Chapter 18

September 12, 2017

Remi was washing dishes as he worked. Since things started with Korina, his edge had rolled back quite a bit. He still had no interest in talking to everyone. He still growled and glared. Yet, the uncontrollable anger had become more controlled. It was to a point where Aimee even asked Remi if he wanted to get out of dish duty for once. But, he was used to it. And, he didn't want to have to talk to people. So, he stayed where he was for the time being.

The kitchen staff didn't know what to make of the lighter version of Remi, so they still ignored him as much as possible. That was fine by him.

Once his lunch break came up, he headed upstairs to check on his very cuddly kitten.

He flashed himself into the room and he froze. Korina was not there. The television and the lamp had been broken. But, the worst was the overwhelming scent of male leopard. They took her!

Remi dropped to his knees as his fears overwhelmed him.

He quickly called Jenna. "Someone took Korina." He barely squeaked out.

Jenna was in front of him in a moment with her son in her arms. She was tall and athletically built with long black hair in a ponytail. Jenna looked around and pulled Remi in for a hug. Jenna was a demigod, not a Were. So, she could not smell anything, but she could absorb Remi's memories and get caught up fast enough.

"Now you listen to me Remi Peltier, I need you to get up from the floor and find your anger. It strengthens you. I am going to drop off Alcander with his aunt. When I get back, we will gather your family and track these leopards. You got it?"

He was so lost and trembling. He barely heard her words. But, he nodded.

In a few seconds, Jenna had returned with her husband Deimos in tow. Deimos pulled Remi up off of the floor. "Come on bear. We have a leopard to find."

Jenna went down the hall and pounded on Dev's door. "What the fuck?" Dev growled. "We have babies in here that we would like to keep sleeping."

But, once the door was open, Jenna jumped on him. "A group of leopards got into the house and took Korina. Remi needs you."

Dev jumped at into action and ran back to tell Samia what happened. Then, he ran down the hall to get the rest of the family.

"How in the hell did they get into the house without being seen?" Fang growled.

Everyone quickly worked out a plan of who would stay to protect the house and who would go. Because it was daytime, the hunting party was made of up Arcadians while the rest stayed at the house on guard duty to find out how the leopards got in. The hunting party was made up of Remi, Dev, Colt, Trip, and Quinn joined in.

"You have done right by me Remi. I am helping you brother." Quinn said as he walked up.

For the first time in a long time. Remi embraced Quinn.

* * *

Korina was scared as she paced around the cage that the leopards had put her in. She had found that she was in more control of her sexual needs when she was in leopard form. So, she had been leopard when they all flashed into Remi's room to take her. She tried to fight them off in both leopard form and human form. But, realized that in human form, she was naked again and that only made their interest in her worse and her sexual need heavier, she quickly returned to leopard form. They eventually got a metriazo collar around her neck and took her some place new.

Her heart was racing. She didn't want to go back to the life of being a slave to men again. Abused and fucked. And, she really did not want to end up mated to one of those assholes. She wanted Remi. Her world was crashing in around her.

Worse was the way her own body betrayed her. Even in leopard form, being surrounded by so many virile, unmated males, her body was throbbing for attention. Desperate to sate its need. She was even panting in the heaviness of her sexual desire. It took all of her focus to remain a leopard and not simply turn into her human form and take them all on until they were all fully sated.

She watched the leopards around her. They were men when they caught her. But, they grew tired of holding human form and settled back into their leopard form around her. All of them watched with lust. They knew she was in heat and were waiting for her to take human form before they exchange her collar for a smaller one to keep her human while they use her. She wanted to vomit at the thought. If only her body would listen to her.

But, for now, she was safe as long as she could stay leopard. It was just so hard to do during the daylight hours. She gave silent thanks to Justin for forcing her to practice being leopard during the day for as long as possible. He made that a larger priority than learning how to use her other magic.

Hours later, she was nearly ready to pass out from the exhaustion of maintaining leopard form and fighting her urges. The sun had set, so it was not as draining as it had been. Yet, the length of time was still wearing down on the small amount of strength she had left. She was fighting with every ounce of willpower that she had left. It was safer as a leopard. And, they had not learned that she was Arcadian yet. But, she knew that she was losing this battle. Eventually, they would win and they would know the truth. She wanted to cry.

"So, how are we going to make her change into a human?" The leopard that had first approached her months ago asked while he watched her with lust and hunger in his eyes.

"Calm down now Jasper. She is not like one of your boy toys." A man that looked like an older version of the first commented. They looked so much alike that if they were humans, you would think they were brothers. The only difference was age and hair color. The younger one was auburn, the older was brown. However, in the world of Were-animals. Chances are that the older one was the father or grandfather of the younger. Korina watched closely as she tried to learn more about them.

The older one watched her back. "There now. She is getting tired of fighting her urges. Give her a little more time and she will be begging you to fuck her. But, remember boy. I get to taste her first."

Korina's chest grew tight. He sounded so much like Kravix. His command. His rules. The way he enjoyed the idea of taking her when she could not say no. _Please Remi. Protect me_.


	19. Chapter 19

Those damn leopards had covered their tracks real well. It took too long to track them down. Remi was nearly in hysterics. Korina was in heat. He knew that she could not refuse them. The thought of her having sex with other men, of being mated to someone else, of her being scared or hurt… it all flooded his thoughts.

But, they finally found the house that the leopards were holed up in. There were filters against other Were-animals from flashing in, but that did not stop Jenna and Deimos. So, they agreed to head straight for Korina while the others fought their way in, past the rest of the leopards.

Jenna and Deimos finally found the room where Korina was being held. The second that they flashed in, two leopards started to attack. Deimos gave a wide grin at the fun he would have with the fight. Jenna rolled her eyes and used her telekinesis to push the two against the wall.

Deimos groaned. "Now where is the fun in that?"

Jenna shook her head. Then she opened the cage that Korina had been in. "Let's get that damn collar off of you girl."

Once the collar was off, Korina collapsed into human form. She was too exhausted to fight anymore. Jenna quickly conjured clothing over the leopard.

But, before, Jenna could help Korina up, two more leopards came running into the room. Jenna rolled and regained her balance in a crouched position. One of the leopards started to charge for her when Deimos materialized a couple of daggers and left that cat seriously wounded. The other ran across the top of the cage that Korina had been kept in and tried to jump on top of the god and demigod. But, Remi went flying into the room to tackle the leopard. Remi quickly changed into his bear form to fight the cat.

Korina watched in awe. He was so ferocious, so primal. And, he was protecting her, like he promised.

Once the leopard was dead, Remi returned to human form and ran to Korina's side. She fell apart into sobs as he pulled her into his arms. "I didn't. I didn't. I fought it... as long as... I could." She mumbled in between her sobs.

"Shh. I know. I trust you kitten. It's alright. I am here." He breathed with his face pressed to her cheek as she nuzzled into his neck. His hands were shaking as he held on to her. All of his tension and fear still coursed through his body, competing with the overwhelming sense of relief at having found her, safe.

Both of the leopards against the wall turned human. The older of the two was the one to speak. "You can't have her. She is a leopard. I am regis for the leopards. She is my family to protect from this brainwashing that you people have done to her."

"Brainwashing?" Dev grinned. "I have seen my brother wash shit tons of dishes, but never saw him wash a brain."

Quinn groaned at the bad joke.

"You had her locked up as a prisoner. It was my duty to free her from you. And, you have killed one of my men. I will bring this to Savitar." He roared.

Remi growled at hearing the leopard spin things.

Deimos laughed at the whole thing. "Damn, no wonder why Savitar is so pissy all the time, if he has to deal with this shit on a regular basis. I prefer dishing out punishments and fighting the deranged."

Everyone glared at him. Except Jenna who smirked.

Deimos shrugged. "Look. I am going to make this real easy on you pal. You are not all that bright, so let's point out the obvious. I am a god. The god of terror and punishment to be exact. I may not have reason to kill you as of right now. But, that does not discount the possibility of fucking with your dreams, hunting you down and/or general torture. The Peltiers, and that bear specifically have protected my wife and son when they needed it. My wife, here, is a demi-god on her own who could kill you without repercussions, and she counts that same bear as one of her closest friends. So, I would say that we have a vested interest in making sure that you don't fuck with the bears again. Omegrion laws or not. And, for the record, same can be said for the Kattalakis wolves."

"Though, I might take offence to Olympian interference normally, I think I can deal with it this time." Savitar said as he leaned against the door frame of the room.

"S-Savitar…" The leopard regis started to stammer.

"Silence Declan." The leopard was smart enough to shut up. "Now you are aware of the gods that protect the bears. I am going to make things clear about the girl. She. Is. Not. Yours." He emphasized every word of that last statement. "Korina is under my direct protection. I put her into the care of the Peltier family. And, if she chooses the bear, then I am more than happy for her. After all, if the two of them would ever get around to consummating their relationship, they would be mates. No one can argue with that once it is done."

Declan gaped at the information. "But, how? She is a leopard. He is a bear!"

Savitar shrugged. "The Fates decide. Get over it." Then he looked over at Remi. "Take her home now."

Remi quickly flashed both of them back to their room. Korina had cried herself to sleep, but he cuddled her close enough to not let anyone else see that she was not awake. He knew not to let others realize that she was Arcadian. Once in his room, he used his magic to dissolve his shirt and changed hers to a tank top while he kept her where she was. He needed to hold her, feel her skin against his. He was still scared that he would lose her again.

Tears finally rolled down his cheeks. After all of the anger and pain of living through Becca's mating with Quinn and their children. He never could have imagined that he could face anything worse. Until he discovered Korina gone. The thought of losing Korina nearly destroyed him. He loved her more than he ever thought was possible. It wasn't just animal possessiveness, but deeper. As if she held the other half of his soul. And without her, he would die.

He dropped his head back against the headboard of the bed. Then he remembered what Savitar had said. She was meant to be his mate…

His mind raced. She really was his. She was meant to be his. Remi let the information settle through his thoughts as her body heat soothed his racing heart. He fell asleep right where they were.


	20. Chapter 20

October 12, 2017

Korina finished up some of the accounting logs that Aimee had asked her to work on, make sure that the numbers all added up right. Then she headed to Aimee's office. Korina smiled as she was finally starting to feel comfortable with herself and the house. After the issue with the other leopards, she was still trapped in her room with Remi until she finished her cycle. She slowly returned to her job training again.

Remi constantly smiled when they were alone. He never said anything. She supposed that he was happy that she fought so hard not to have sex with the leopard males. But, she felt bad that he did so much to help her with her hunger and got nothing in return. She didn't deserve a man like him.

Now that she was back to normal and not clawing for him, Korina wanted to give herself to him. To offer him the pleasures that he had shown her in his selfless care of her needs. But, she was scared to try. She was scared that she wouldn't please him. She didn't know how to please a man other than lay there and let them do what they want. And, she didn't know how to learn. She sure as hell was not going to ask one of his brothers.

Korina was lost in thought as she turned the corner and ran into Becca. Korina immediately panicked. She tried not to interact with Becca. She didn't want to hurt anyone or cause problems. She quickly turned to go the other way.

"Korina, wait." Becca called.

Not knowing what else to do, Korina stopped and turned to face Becca. Becca waddled up to her, now around seven months into her pregnancy. She took a breath and smiled at Korina.

"I was hoping that you and I could talk." Becca finally said.

Korina tilted her head. "I don't want to cause problems."

"No. No problems. I really am sorry about how I acted." Becca paused. "Please, sit with me in the living room."

The two women walked over to the room where they had such a public fight several months prior. Korina didn't know what was going on, but she tried to push through her unease. It would mean a lot to Remi if she and Becca were not fighting. He never said that. But, Korina knew.

Becca looked at Korina again with a small smile. She took another breath. "I can't change what happened. And, the more that I think back to the night that Quinn and I were mated, the more that I am convinced that it was the Fates themselves that pulled me into the wrong room. It may not have been what my heart wanted, but it was what the Fates had chosen for me."

Becca looked down. "Every time that I hear the story of how someone found their mate, they all start out the same. That there was some magical pull that drew them to their mate despite all logic or reason. I suppose it makes sense because you can't be mated to someone if you fight the instinct to be with them. But, in my case, I never felt that with Quinn directly. I loved Remi too much. So, I think that the Fates intervened to make sure that I ended up with Quinn."

Korina didn't know why Becca was telling her this. So, she stayed quiet.

"Don't get me wrong. Quinn is a wonderful man and an amazing father for my cubs. He is a really good friend. But, I feel guilty."

Becca looked at Korina. "I feel guilty that Remi's heart was broken. I feel guilty that I can't just stop caring for my mate's brother. I feel guilty that Quinn has spent years closed off from me because he was constantly waiting for me cheat on him with Remi. And, I think he feels more guilty than I do. Quinn and I never had a chance to even try to see if we could love one another because of the circumstances of how we came to be mated. And, all of it carries weight. None of it was fair to any of us."

Korina looked down. "I don't know what to say Becca."

Becca shook her head. "None of it was your fault. But, you broke Remi out of that trap of misery. And, for that, I am grateful to you. My animal nature still wants to be possessive of him. But, I want him to be happy more than I want to be close to him. You seem to make him happy."

She took another deep breath. "Actually, now that Remi is happy. Quinn and I are starting to relax a little. We feel less guilt. It will take some time. But, we are trying to let down the walls that the guilt built up. Try to see where we find ourselves when we don't have that pain between us anymore. There are no guarantees, but we will see."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Korina asked.

"Because, I want you to know that there are no hard feelings. I am not perfect. But, I genuinely do appreciate what you have done for Remi. It took me a while to calm down and accept it enough to see what a blessing you are to him. But, I did."

Then Becca stood up and put her hands on her hips. "And, because I didn't want you to get the wrong idea when I ask you just why in the hell it is that you two have not mated yet."

Korina's eyes went wide. Her face blushed so badly that she could feel the heat rising from her own skin without touching it. Korina couldn't even find the words to speak. That was so private and then to have Becca of all people ask…

"Sugar. Quinn told me what Savitar said when everyone rescued you. You two are meant to be mated. And, you would be if you ever got into action. You have been living together for months. And, after everything that you and Remi have been through, I don't want to see either of you get hurt. Why risk any more complications?"

Her jaw dropped. "He said what?"

Becca's eyes went wide. "Oh gods. You didn't know?" Becca's hand flew over her mouth.

Korina shook her head. "I was so upset and tired. I, I- I didn't know that Savitar was there." So, that was why Remi had been smiling so much. He knew that they would be mated. And, still, he held back. For her. Because of her fears. A smile started to tug at the corner of her lips. What did she ever do to deserve Remi Peltier?

"Thank you Becca."

Becca let out a low growl. "I know this is awkward and all. Especially with me. But, everyone in the house is holding their breath for you two. Seriously Korina, what is the hold up?"

Korina dropped her head. "My past was bad. So, Remi wants to wait until I am comfortable and not lead by my need from my cycle. But, now I want to. I am just scared. I don't know how to make him happy. Remi is not like the demons who were happy when they hurt me."

Becca let out a long slow breath.

"I am sorry Becca. I shouldn't say things with you. It's not right…"

Becca smiled. "No. I asked. You answered honestly. And, I am making a very specific choice to help you as a friend. To make sure that Remi is happy. So, for today, I am going to breath through this and pretend that Remi is nothing more than a friend who deserves to have someone help his girlfriend blow his mind."

"What do you mean?" Korina frowned.

Becca tilted her head. "Would you like to go shopping with me? We can invite Samia."

Korina shook her head quickly. "I haven't left Sanctuary since I got here. Except for those leopards."

"Well, there is a first time for everything." Becca grabbed Korina's hand and walked her upstairs to Sam and Dev's room.

Sam answered the door with one of her babies in her arms. Her jaw dropped at seeing Becca and Korina there together.

"I know. I know. Shocking. I am seriously making efforts here." Becca said. "But, more shocking yet, is what's next." Samia raised an eyebrow. "Could you get someone to watch the twins for a little while and go with Korina and I to Pandora's Box?"

Samia nearly fell over. "Excuse me?" She looked back and forth between the two women in front of her.

"Sun sets in ten minutes. Remi is still working for a couple of hours. And apparently, the major hold up on their whole mating thing is that Remi left everything up to Korina because of her past. But, now she wants things to be special and she doesn't know where to start learning." Becca rolled her eyes. "I might be willing to swallow my pride to help out, but I can't be the one to teach this. And it would be good to have some feminine muscle with us in case of any problems."

Samia turned to Korina. "And you are going to leave Sanctuary for this?"

"Will going to this place help make Remi happy?" Korina asked.

"Oh yeah." Sam laughed as she handed the baby to Becca while she went back to get the other so they could drop off the twins with Penelope. She was mated to Zar, the second oldest of the Peltier boys. And with their herd of kids, who were growing up, Penelope loved to babysit for the others.


	21. Chapter 21

It took some work for the three women to sneak out of Sanctuary without Remi seeing them. Samia had to enlist Dev's help to get Remi into one of the back rooms long enough for them to get through the kitchen. Once out the side door, Korina froze. She was outside of Sanctuary, without Remi. She was terrified that something would happen. But, she knew that Samia was an immortal Amazon warrior. _Okay then. This is for Remi._

Korina's eyes were wide as her senses were assaulted with so many scents and sounds. It was different from looking down from the roof or a window. She had learned about cars already. She saw them through the windows and learned on the television. But everything looked different than the television shows. She was overwhelmed by it all as they walked a few streets over to a small store.

The second she saw all of the stuff in the shop, she blushed so bad that she wanted to hide.

"Samia!" A woman with auburn hair came running in from the back to hug Sam. "Please tell me you are shopping today."

Sam laughed. "Calm down Tabby. We are shopping for Korina here."

Korina shied away.

"First time in a shop like this?" The woman asked. Korina nodded. "My name is Tabitha Magnus. I own the store. My friend Marla helps out, she will be back soon. And my husband, Valerius is somewhere in the back. But, you will receive no judgements from us. We are happy to help."

Korina tilted her head. "Valarius Magnus?"

"You know Val?" Tabitha asked.

Korina shook her head and withdrew.

Tabitha frowned. Samia put a hand on Tabby's shoulder. "Korina has had a challenging past. I was teaching her some history. But, she has found a good bear to take care of her. Now she wants to learn and stock up on ways to make her bear happy."

That sparked Tabitha's excitement. "Oh, which brother?"

"Remi." Becca answered. Tabitha's jaw dropped. "I am happy for them both. So, let's not make this more awkward than it already is." Korina appreciated Becca trying to help. She knew that Becca was sweet before their confrontation. She had to be a special woman for Remi to love her so deeply and for so long. So, Korina was trying to not feel so shy with her. It was hard. But, at least they could meet on common ground when it comes to wanting Remi to be happy. They could get through this, for Remi.

"Alrighty then. Where should we start?"

Samia took over. "No bondage anything. No pain play anything. She doesn't need too much. Just sensual and sweet. Enough to make him one very happy bear."

Tabitha jumped into action pulling down books, explaining things, and showing pieces of fabric that she said a person could wear. Korina didn't know how those covered anything.

Samia's phone started ringing. "Damn. Remi found the note we left." She quickly passed the phone to Korina.

She answered the call and had to hold the phone out away from her ear as he shouted. "Why do I have a note that said Korina is out with you and not to follow?" Everyone could hear him well enough.

Korina hissed at the phone. "Korina?"

"Why are you yelling so loud?" She growled into the phone. "I am alright. That is why we left the note."

Tabitha tilted her head. "Now I see the connection. Surly and feisty." Samia elbowed her to be quiet.

For a moment, Korina forgot where she was and who was watching. Her confidence came out as she was talking to Remi. "Oh no, you will not come looking for me Remi Peltier. I finally took the chance to leave Sanctuary and face the outside world so that I can do something as a surprise for you. You will not ruin everything by hunting me down. And, don't you even think of beating up on Dev for more information either. He doesn't know where we went." Becca's eyebrows raised. She had never seen that side of Korina before. Korina was usually quiet and withdrawn. The only time that Becca saw her take a stand was to defend Remi. She had not seen her do it to Remi. No wonder why Remi liked her.

Korina smiled. " _Ne vous inquiétez pas, ours grincheux. Je t'aime aussi._ Now go back to work. I will be home soon." She spoke in French: ' _Don't worry, grumpy bear. I love you too_ '.

As soon as the phone was turned off, the women all started to laugh. Korina blushed and tried to hide again.

Once everything was packaged up and paid for, thanks to Becca and Samia, Korina flashed herself to her room. She was not very good at using magic to move places yet. But, she could usually get back to her room. Other places, not so much. And, that was the only way that she would get back with all of her new things and not have to pass Remi in the kitchen. They all agreed that it was probably best if Remi didn't see Korina and Becca together right before his surprise. Yet, while Becca is pregnant, she could not use magic or move by magic. So, Samia walked Becca back to the bar while Korina got things ready. Then, Samia would let Remi know that Korina was in their room, once she saw him. Korina hoped that it would time out well.


	22. Chapter 22

Korina had just finished getting ready when she heard Remi come barrelling down the hallway for their room. Her heart was racing and her stomach twisted into knots as she waited for the door to open. Her blush grew darker with each step that he took.

Remi opened the door searching for Korina. He was so scared that she would be hurt out there. His heart stopped when he did not see her at first. But, then the door shut behind him. When he turned around, all of his wildest dreams had come true.

Korina had been hiding behind the door, and the sight of her made every animal instinct in him jump up and take notice.

She was wearing a very sexy, dark red lace babydoll style lingerie set that sent shivers over his skin. Oh, no. It was much more than that. It was the blush on her skin. The shy tilt of her head. The way she bit on her thumb.

Remi groaned as his body tightened with need and became instantly hard at the sight of her.

"Do you like it?" She asked hesitantly. He could only nod his head as his throat had gone too dry to speak.

"Remi? Will you mate with me?" She asked.

He shook his head as he pulled himself out of the haze of shock. "Korina, if we do this, Savitar said that we will really be mated. Would you be ready for that committment?" His voice was still deep and gravely.

"I love you Remi Peltier. You already are the mate I choose. I made my decisions. I don't want to wait for the three weeks to decide about mating. We finish it right away once the marks show up. And, I want to bond with you. I know about the biting part. But, I trust you to be gentle with me. I can't imagine my life without you. If you don't want to, that is alright. Just, know that I made my choice."

Remi stepped forward to cup her face. "You have to be the most amazing woman that I have ever met." He kissed her. Deeply, passionately.

Korina's head was spinning. She lost herself in the masculine scent of Remi, the taste of his kiss. Her whole body was on fire. Her breasts were heavy with need. It was similar to how she felt when she was in heat. But, different. Her body was sensitive, and desperate. Yet, it wasn't in a rush to just finish feeding one need. It was alight with pleasure. And, she savored every second of it.

Remi pulled her against his body as they kissed. The feel of her against him sparked a moan from him that sent shivers over her skin.

Passions were ignited and Remi wanted to throw her into his bed and have his way with her. But, this was a dream come true. To have Korina offer herself to him. To finally mate with her and become mated to her. With her past, he wanted to take things slow. To truly make love to her.

His hands ran up and down her back as they kissed until they were both breathless. Then, breaking the kiss, Remi scooped Korina into his arms and gently carried her to their bed. Only then, did Remi pull back enough to really look at her in the lingerie that Samia had obviously taken her out to get. He couldn't believe that she had faced her fears enough to leave Sanctuary for this. For him.

She was stunning in the ensemble. The red contrasted with her skin to the point that her skin almost glowed. The cut of the style highlighted her feminine curves, yet kept everything covered. Then he noticed all of the ribbons and bows. The satin bows were each numbered with white embroidery. A playful grin pulled at his lips.

"I take it that these are supposed to be pulled in order?" He asked with one brow raised. While his fingers lightly grazed the skin of her thigh.

Korina nodded as she purred. The look on his face was more than she had ever hoped for. He was more than just happy. That made the whole awkward experience of shopping, out of Sanctuary, with Becca, worth it.

Remi found the bow labeled one. It was over her left shoulder. So he lowered his head and began kissing at her neck until he made his way to the bow. Then he tugged at it with his teeth until it came undone. He continued to kiss and savor the skin that was exposed across her left shoulder and her collar bone. Until he made his way over to her right shoulder where he found bow number two. He repeated the attention to the skin on her right side.

Korina's body was aching. Her skin twitched in ecstasy with each soft kiss on her skin. She wanted to please him. But, Tabitha had told her not to interrupt his play with this outfit. That it would make him happy to just take his time. Then, after that, she could try some of the things that she saw in the books.

It felt like an exquisite eternity before Remi found his way to bow number three, holding the fabric together across her breasts. He moaned as he dipped his head into the cleavage created by the outfit. He nuzzled his face into the warm flesh before he pulled on the third ribbon to expose those succulent mounds. He ran his tongue across the underside of one breast and chuckled as Korina's back arched in the pleasure.

He took his time with her breasts. He loved to hear the sounds of pleasure that she made. Her purrs. Her gasps. Her moans. Her breathing was heavy and ragged. But, he truly loved the look on her face. Her cheeks were mottled. Her lips swollen as they pulled into a smile. Her golden eyes dark with lust. Yet, under it all, was a look of love. She ran her fingers through his blond curls while he paid attention to her body. Even those fingers betrayed her pleasure as she fisted her hands when he did certain things.

Remi smiled up at her as he started his way down to the fourth bow on her left hip. She practically squealed in delight as he kissed and lightly nipped at her exposed hipbone. He was nervous about using teeth at all. But, she seemed to like the gentle nips.

By the time he made it to the fifth bow, she had dropped her head back and chewed on her lower lip. Remi growled with triumph once the last of the bows was pulled and the fabric removed from between her legs.

Remi kissed and nuzzled at her inner thighs, rubbing the prickly whiskers of his chin over her sensitive skin. Korina's murmurs of pleasure filled him with so much pride. That he could truly please a woman like her. Who had so many reasons to be scared of him or being intimate. Yet, she trusted him enough to let go of her past and find pleasure and peace with him. It wasn't something that he took for granted.

As he lowered his head to take her into his mouth, Korina pushed his head back. She took several breaths as she tried to regain her senses. Shaking her head no, Korina reached down to roll him over.

"You pleased me so many times when I was in heat. It is my turn to please you first." She said as she moved to where she could unbuckle Remi's belt and unbutton his pants. She slowly worked his pants down his hips. Once his manhood was fully exposed, an impish smile tugged at her lips.

"Remi Peltier, why do I have to I have to wear panties and you don't wear underwear?" She arched a brow accusingly.

He chuckled. "Because no one else can tell while I wear jeans."

She gave a light hearted hiss at his hypocrisy. And he laughed more. Well, he laughed until Korina dropped her head and took him into her mouth. Dear gods! It had been so long since a woman had touched him let alone done that. He had sex with women since Becca, just to scratch that biological itch. But, that hadn't happened in over a year, months before Korina showed up in Sanctuary.

Korina was nervous about messing things up. She did not have time to really read the books closely. She was still very slow at reading. But, the pictures helped. And she watched Remi as she explored his body, listened to his sounds. Mostly, she learned from his reactions. It did not take her long to learn what things he enjoyed more than the others.

Remi clenched his teeth trying to hold back as long as possible. He was enjoying her attention way too much to let things be over fast. And, she seemed to be enjoying her explorations as well. But, she changed her actions and it sent him screaming out as his body climaxed.

Remi growled as he pulled Korina up and rolled her over so that he could attack her in the same way, using his mouth and fingers to bring her to climax more than once before he stalked his way up her body leaving a burning trail across her skin with his tongue. He nuzzled into her neck.

"Are you sure about this Korina?" He rasped as lust filled his deep voice.

She nodded her head. "I want to be yours. Completely."

With that, he drove himself in with one powerful stroke. Korina arched her back and gasped at the sensations of feeling Remi so deep inside of her. Remi growled in triumph as he finally felt her body wrapped around his. He kissed her, gently, thoroughly as he let her body get used to him there. Then he began slowly stroking himself in and out of her body. They both moaned.

It didn't take them long before they were both screaming out as their orgasms hit at the same time.

But, Remi stayed inside of her. One of the advantages to being a Were-animal was that the males would be hard again much faster than human males, and they could climax many more times. So, they were definitely not finished for the night.

* * *

Hours later, Remi had gone down to the kitchen to get some food for them both. They had worked up quite the appetite. Korina had passed out and Remi was not far behind. But, they needed to eat something.

He walked into the kitchen where his brother Etienne was scrounging for some food as well. It was late enough that there wasn't any kitchen staff there.

"Hey Dev, how are the twins doing?" Etienne asked.

Remi growled at the mistake of identity. "I am not Dev. Do you see a tattoo on my arm?" Since Remi was not wearing a shirt, it would be obvious that he did not have Dev's double bow and arrow tattoo.

"Seriously? Remi?" Etienne looked at him closely. Remi nodded, uncomfortable under his brother's intense gaze. "Damn, that feline of yours sure does put a smile on your face. Wish she found you sooner."

"Yeah, yeah, asshole." Remi grumbled while he got a plate of fruit and cheese, trying to wipe the smile away.

Etienne stopped him. "I am serious Remi. It is good to see you happy _mon frere_."

Remi didn't know what to make of the brotherly sentiment. But, he didn't have time to really think about it as the palm of his hand started to burn. He quickly set down the plate to shake off the pain when it hit him. He stopped and opened his hand to stare at the intricate geometric pattern that had etched itself into his skin. His mating mark.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall for a second as he gave silent thanks to the Fates for not fucking him over again.

"Well, it's about damn time that happened." Etienne laughed. "Please tell me that this will be sealed up as soon as possible."

Remi finally grinned at his brother. "As soon as I get up stairs. Feel free to let the family know. And, we have already talked about it. We are going to be bonded."

"Good. I don't want to have to see the worthless puddle of shit you would become if you lose her."

"Me either." Remi laughed. Then he flashed himself up to his room.

Korina was awake and staring at her mating mark with a wide smile on her face. When she saw Remi, she jumped out of bed and threw herself into his arms with a whirlwind of kisses. He set down the plate of food and carried her back to their bed.

He dissolved his jeans as he rolled onto his back, with her above him. "This is all your choice Korina. Including the bonding. Are you sure about it?"

She dropped down to kiss him. "Yes."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thank you so much for reading my story. Please, please, please leave reviews.**

 **I experimented with posting over time. This story, I wrote a little while ago and then tried to be patient and post more drawn out, just to see what kind of difference there would be in getting feedback. Unfortunately, I didn't get much. And, honestly, I was too impatient to wait too long between posts. I did, however, learn not to post multiple chapters at a time as I think people managed to skip chapters when they clicked on the latest update. I also wrote another story while posting, under a different category. And, I found that I forget to really work in the details that I see in my head. So, a huge part of me wants to go back and rework that whole story.**

 **Lesson learned? I am happier when I just finish a story on my own schedule and post it all at one time. So, for those who like my stories, that is most likely my future choices.**

 **If you disagree or have any information that could help me in writing future stories... please let me know. I know that I have one request for a story about Kell. It has not struck my muse yet, but I am hoping to work on that one soon.**

 **I would love to hear what you all think of: the characters, the plot development, is it all too slow, did the relationship seem natural or forced, do you like the chapter lengths or want them a little longer (I aim for around 1500 words per chapter in this story, with changes in length based on natural section breaks), etc...**


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